Russian foreign minister to hold talks with Donbass officials

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with officials from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics of eastern Ukraine on Friday on their plans to open embassies in Moscow, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees on Monday to recognise the two breakaway regions as independent states before ordering a full-blown invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said in a statement the sides would discuss Russian military operations in Ukraine, as well as the opening of the embassies of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic in Moscow. They will also discuss the opening of Russian diplomatic outposts in the two regions.

Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, collectively known as the Donbass, broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and proclaimed themselves independent “people’s republics”.