The European Union condemned a bid by Russian lawmakers to have President Vladimir Putin recognize separatist regions in Ukraine as independent, saying it would violate the Minsk agreements Moscow had signed up to.
"The EU strongly condemns the Russian State Duma's decision to submit a call to President Putin to recognize the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine as independent entities," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted.
"This recognition would be a clear violation of the Minsk agreements," he said.
Russia's parliament earlier Tuesday urged Putin to recognize the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, in the area known as the Donbass, arguing that it was Kyiv that was not following the Minsk agreements.
