Ukraine crisis: Putin-EU talks 'positive but hard'

Russia and EU leaders say their talks on the crisis in Ukraine which includes its President are positive but difficult.

The UK, German, French and Italian leaders are expected to press Russian leader Vladimir Putin to do more to end the fighting.

Reports say while there is no sign of any breakthrough, the main thing is to create trust between the sides.

The West says Russia is arming separatist rebels and sending troops to eastern Ukraine but Moscow has denied this.

The EU insists that sanctions it introduced against Russia over its involvement in the crisis will remain until Moscow takes action to defuse the crisis.

Ukraine and the rebels agreed to a truce in September, but each side have accused the other of repeated shelling.

The separatists control parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

More than three thousand 600 people have been killed since the fighting erupted in April, following the annexation by Russia of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsular a month earlier.

BBC