Here's the upshot of the Lavrov-Steinmeier meeting in Yekaterinburg, courtesy of our news desk:
Lavrov, Steinmeier Discuss Ukraine, Syria In Yekaterinburg
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier have held talks in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg that focused primarily on Ukraine and Syria.
Speaking to reporters after the August 15 meeting, the two ministers affirmed their support for the Minsk process aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov said Moscow is prepared to provide "irrefutable" evidence of an alleged plan by Kyiv to launch sabotage attacks in Crimea, the Ukrainian region that Moscow annexed in 2014.
Moscow does not plan to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine over the incident, saying that doing so would be "an extreme measure," Lavrov added.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in or knowledge of such a sabotage plot.
Steinmeier said the worsening situation in Ukraine in recent weeks is "worrisome" and called on both Moscow and Kyiv to investigate the alleged sabotage plot.
On Syria, Lavrov said a cease-fire in the area around the city of Aleppo is needed, but that first "it is necessary to deal with the issues of the fight against terrorists."
He accused rebels fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of using short-term humanitarian truces to regroup and of using humanitarian corridors to bring additional fighters and weapons to the conflict zone.
Before his meeting with Steinmeier, Lavrov had told journalists that Russia was not to blame for strained relations with Berlin.
"We are paying top-priority attention to relations with Germany and it is not our fault that they are enduring a difficult period," Lavrov said.
The position of EU powerhouse Germany has been crucial to keeping sanctions in place against Russia over its interference in Ukraine.
Based on reporting by Interfax and Reuters
Here's an item from our news desk on Paul Manafort:
Kyiv Probing Evidence Of Corruption By Top Trump Adviser
Handwritten ledgers found in Kyiv seem to link Paul Manafort, who is currently the chairman of U.S. mogul Donald Trump's presidential campaign, to more than $12 million in undisclosed cash payments during his tenure as an adviser to the government of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
The New York Times reported on August 14 that the ledgers are being investigated by Ukraine's National Anticorruption Bureau as possible evidence of widespread corruption inside Yanukovych's government.
The ledgers mention Manafort's name 22 times and seem to document payments totalling $12.7 million between 2007 and 2012.
Yanukovych fled the country in February 2014 amid massive public demonstrations.
The Kyiv documents also seem to tie Manafort to a partnership with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and the questionable purchase of Ukrainian cable television assets for some $18 million.
Manafort declined to be interviewed for The New York Times story, but his lawyer said Manafort had not received "any such cash payments." The lawyer also denied that Manafort approved of or participated in any illegal activities.