Another Ukraine-related item from our news desk:
NATO, U.S. Want Dialogue With Russia 'From Position Of Strength'
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance and the new U.S. administration agree on the need for dialogue with Russia "from a position of strength."
Stoltenberg said on January 31 that in phone conversations with U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis, "they all conveyed the same message: that the United States remains committed to NATO and the transatlantic bond."
"The message of the new administration is that they also want dialogue with Russia but from a position of strength," he added.
Relations between NATO and Russia have sunk to lows not seen since the Cold War amid tension over Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, its backing of insurgents in eastern Ukraine, its involvement in the Syrian conflict, and other issues.
Trump, who took office on January 20, has called for improved relations with Russia and has rattled Europe with criticism of NATO and praise for Britain's plans to leave the EU.
He has called NATO "obsolete" but also said the alliance is still "very important" to him.
Based on reporting by AFP and TASS
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. (As you can see, there's a lot of activity around Avdiyivka.):
Here's a new item from RFE/RL's news desk:
Eight EU Members Urge Closer Cooperation With U.S. On Ukraine Reforms
BRUSSELS -- Eight EU member states are calling for more cooperation between the United States and the European Union in pushing for reforms in Ukraine, according to a document seen by RFE/RL.
The plan comes amid widespread concerns in Europe that new U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will step up cooperation with Russia, reducing U.S. support for Ukraine and leaving the EU with less influence.
The paper, which is to be discussed by EU foreign ministers on February 6, was authored by Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden.
"Ukraine has the potential to become a positive showcase for the region," but it will take "long-term political commitment and resolve as well as international support," the document says.
It stresses that "the EU and the United States have a shared interest in supporting Ukrainian reforms, and adds: "We believe more could be done to share analysis and coordinate reform efforts with the United States."
Specifically, it says the EU and United States should explore cooperation in reforming the Ukrainian customs authority to "increase compliance, efficiency and predictability to the benefit of trade and private sector development."
Western governments and analysts say that swifter, more thorough reforms would reduce the influence of Russia, which seized the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and backs separatists in a war that has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014.