Meanwhile, in China...
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on March 15 that his government respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, but would not be drawn on whether China considers Crimea to be part of Ukraine or Russia.
Speaking at a news conference at the end of an 11-day meeting of the ruling party’s nominal parliament, the National People's Congress, Li said: "On the issue of Ukraine, China has adopted an objective and just position. We respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."
But he said: "At the same time, the Ukraine issue has added to the complexity of the geopolitical situation and has affected the process of the global economic recovery. We still hope that this issue can be resolved via dialogue, negotiations, and consultations."
His remarks came as Moscow prepares for celebrations marking last year's March 18 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
The annexation by Russia has been deemed illegal by the United Nations General Assembly, the United States, the European Union, and NATO.
(Reuters, AP, AFP)
Good morning. We'll get the live blog rolling today with this update from our news desk on the so-called special status for separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine:
President Petro Poroshenko has submitted a draft law that outlines the boundaries of particular districts in the areas under pro-Russian separatist control in eastern Ukraine that could be granted "special status."
The bill was registered into the database of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, late on March 14.
The area to which the special status law could potentially be applied, was outlined on March 12 by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. The Rada could vote on it as early as next week.
Under the terms of a truce deal reached in Minsk on February 12 between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France, Ukraine's parliament was supposed to officially recognize a special status for the separatist-controlled Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) People's Republics.
On March 13, the leaders of the two self-proclaimed entities, Aleksandr Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, jointly called on French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to "put pressure" on Kyiv to implement the deal agreed in Minsk.
(sputniknews.com, Interfax)
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume tomorrow morning, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.