That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Thursday, January 7, 2016. Check back here tomorrow morning for more of our continuing coverage.
Merkel sees progress on Ukraine crisis in 'Normandy format' over next months
MAGDEBURG, Germany, Jan 7 (Reuters) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday she believes there will be progress in the "Normandy format" negotiations on the Ukraine crisis over the next few months.
The "Normandy format" includes France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.
"I believe that we will achieve progress in the Normandy negotiations between Russia and the Ukraine within the next months. I am optimistic," Merkel said at a Chamber of Industry and Commerce event in Magdeburg.
Coca-Cola Apologizes To Ukraine Over Russia Map
By RFE/RL
The Coca-Cola Company has officially apologized to Ukraine for publishing on Russian social media a map of Russia that included Crimea, which was illegally annexed by the Kremlin in March 2014.
"I can only apologize for this as it simply should never have happened," wrote Clyde C. Tuggle, senior vice president of the global beverage giant, in a letter to the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington dated January 6.
The letter reads that the map "was prepared by an outside agency without Coca-Cola’s knowledge or approval."
On December 30, Coca-Cola Russia posted a holiday greetings message to the Russian social-media site VKontakte along with a map of the country dotted with Christmas trees.
The map, however, sparked an angry response from Russian users who complained it excluded several regions, including Crimea.
On January 5, the company issued an apology on its official VKontakte page, along with a new map that included the Black Sea peninsula. The new map generated a fresh wave of outrage from Ukrainians.