Russia

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President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are taking opposing tacks on Ukraine's ongoing faceoff with Russia, with Mr. Obama taking a hard-line stance and Mrs. Merkel seeking a diplomatic solution. (Associated Press)

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Russia leaders hope to draw world leaders away from neighboring Poland's planned commemorations and instead to Moscow, where the annual Victory Day parade will take place May 9. The plan highlights ongoing tensions between Russia and the West.

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French President Francois Hollande, right, gestures while speaking as Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel listen to him during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015. Talks among the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on a peace initiative for Ukraine ended early Saturday with an announcement that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart would discuss a proposal to end the fighting in a four-way telephone call this weekend. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)

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Ukrainian forces have lost hundreds of square miles more than was agreed under the Minsk Protocol. U.S. and Ukrainian officials say separatists in the east are pushing to establish a land bridge from Russia's mainland to Crimea. (Associated Press)

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Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., gathers a bipartisan group of senators to call on President Barack Obama to provide defensive weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian-backed rebel groups and to stave off incursions from Russia and Ukrainian separatists, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., flanked by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., left, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, where he gathered a bipartisan group of senators to call on American support for Ukraine, which needs weaponry to stave off incursion from Russia and Ukrainian separatists. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

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Lesbian activists who happened to be seated on a plane in front of Russian lawmaker Vitaly Milonov decided to photograph themselves kissing and poking fun at the man behind Russia's controversial anti-gay propaganda law. (Ksenia Infinity via CNN)

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Then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin jumps off a cross-country vehicle as he arrives to a research institute at the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, April 29, 2010. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

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FILE - In this Friday, May 9, 2014 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a parade marking the Victory Day in Sevastopol, Crimea. With hundreds of new aircraft, tanks and missiles rolling off assembly lines and Russian jets buzzing European skies under NATO’s wary eye, it doesn’t look like Russia’s economic woes have had any impact on the Kremlin’s ambitious military modernization program. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

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FILE - In this Tuesday May 7, 2013 file photo, Russian Iskander missiles make their way through Red Square during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia. With hundreds of new aircraft, tanks and missiles rolling off assembly lines and Russian jets buzzing European skies under NATO’s wary eye, it doesn’t look like Russia’s economic woes have had any impact on the Kremlin’s ambitious military modernization program. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

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Illustration on Russia's interference with global energy production by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

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Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), from Russia, celebrates his goal in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a visit to Hungary on Monday that her nation will not provide military hardware to Ukraine and asserted that the war with Russia-backed forces "cannot be solved militarily." (Associated Press)

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"You don't deal with a thug like Vladimir Putin by asking nicely," House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican, said in his critique of the Obama administration policy on Russia. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

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The city's landmarks St. Isaak's Cathedral is silhouetted as the sun sets in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

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Miss Universe contestant Yulia Alipova, of Russia, poses during the Yamamay swimsuit runway show, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, in Doral, Fla. The Miss Universe pageant will be held Jan. 25 in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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Image: Top Gear Russia

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In this Nov. 19, 2014 file photo, North Korea's new Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyun Joon, left, poses with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a photo after presenting his credentials from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Putin in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool,File)

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FILE - This is a Friday, Oct. 17, 2014 file photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande, right, during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEM summit of European and Asian leaders in Milan, northern Italy. EU sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine are cutting both ways and pinching some big European companies. But economic relief isn't likely any time soon, diplomats and analysts say: EU rules make the sanctions tough to overturn. France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine are trying to set up talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, toward easing the tensions behind sanctions that have hit Russia's economy, sent the ruble sinking and affected corporate Europe _ including banks, oil companies, machinery makers and food giants. (AP Photo/Daniel Dal Zennaro, Pool, File)