Russia violating Ukraine peace deal with passport order: Germany
BERLIN (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to temporarily recognize passports issued by rebels in Ukraine violates the Minsk peace agreement, a German government spokesman said on Monday. "The recognition of travel documents issued by the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic undermines the unity of Ukraine and is a stark contradiction to all that was agreed in Minsk and is therefore totally unacceptable," Steffen Seibert said during a regular government news conference in Berlin. A foreign ministry spokesman added that German authorities would not recognize the documents. Putin ordered Russian authorities on Saturday to temporarily recognize civil registration documents issued in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine, a decision also strongly criticized by Ukraine's president. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Michelle Martin)
