Good morning. Our lead story this morning: Peace talks in Berlin.
Talks to assess the implementation of a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine are due to take place in Berlin on April 13.
The meeting brings together German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.
The conflict between Russian-backed rebels and government troops in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 6,000 people since April 2014
The cease-fire agreement brokered by the German and French leaders in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in February has reduced hostilities, but violations are reported regularly.
Under the truce, fighting was supposed to stop and heavy weapons were to be pulled back from the front line.
Responsibility for verifying the cease-fire lies with monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Ahead of the Berlin talks, Steinmeier urged Moscow and Kyiv to move ahead with implementation of the Minsk deal, which also sets out steps to regulate relations between Kyiv and rebel-held parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces and to help them recover from a year of fighting.
Progress, But 'Not Enough'
Prospects for a settlement are clouded by disputes over those aspects of the deal.
"We expect both Moscow and Kyiv to seize the central issue of the implementation of the next phase of Minsk," Steinmeier said in an interview with the Die Welt newspaper.
The next phase foresees "the preparation of local elections in the areas occupied by the separatists, but also humanitarian access and reconstruction in eastern Ukraine," Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier said OSCE observers were making progress, "but it is not enough."
He also point to the "well advanced withdrawal of heavy weapons."
Steinmeier's largely upbeat assessment was echoed recently by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who said on April 9 that "some progress" has been achieved on the ground despite cease-fire violations.
However, an unnamed NATO official told another newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, on April 12 that Russia was still supplying troops and weapons to the separatists in Ukraine, in violation of the Minsk accords.
"We have noticed again support for the separatists, with weapons, troops and training. Russia is still sending troops and arms from one side of the open border with Ukraine to the other," the Germany daily quoted the official as saying.
On April 10, the Ukrainian military accused the rebels of intensifying attacks, especially around the airport in the rebel-held city of Donetsk.
The military said the rebels were using heavy weapons, which are supposed to have been withdrawn from the front line.
Barring any major developments, that ends the live blogging for today.
German Foreign Minister Says No Invite To G7 For Putin
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be invited to attend the G7 summit of leading industrial nations in Bavaria this June.
In an interview published in the April 12 edition of Die Welt, Steinmeier was asked about calls from the leader of Germany's Left party to invite Putin to summit to discuss international crises.
Steinmeier said it was not anyone's interest to isolate Russia but he added after Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula "we cannot act as if nothing happened and carry on business as usual."
Steinmeier said while it was desirable to have Russia involved in helping resolve crises in Syria, Yemen and Libya the subject of renewing the G8 was a closed issue for now.
Steinmeier said, "The way back to the G8 will come through respecting the unity of Ukraine and implementing Russian obligations from the Minsk treaty."
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States met last year without Putin also in protest at Russia's actions in Ukraine.
Good morning. It's quite quiet on the Ukraine news front. Here is a bit of weekend reading:
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow, you can keep up with our ongoing Ukraine news coverage here.