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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Russia troop reduction on Ukraine border welcomed | Russia troop reduction on Ukraine border welcomed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Germany's Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has welcomed a "slight reduction" in the number of Russian troops along Ukraine's border. | Germany's Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has welcomed a "slight reduction" in the number of Russian troops along Ukraine's border. |
| The Russian defence ministry said one motorised infantry battalion was withdrawing from the Rostov region. | The Russian defence ministry said one motorised infantry battalion was withdrawing from the Rostov region. |
| After a meeting with his French and Polish counterparts, Mr Steinmeier said it was a "small signal" that the situation was becoming less tense. | After a meeting with his French and Polish counterparts, Mr Steinmeier said it was a "small signal" that the situation was becoming less tense. |
| Thousands of Russian soldiers are still said to be deployed along the border. | |
| Earlier, Ukraine condemned a visit to Crimea by Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and a delegation of government ministers. | |
| A foreign ministry spokesman in Kiev said the highest-level trip to the Black Sea peninsula by officials from Moscow since its annexation by Russia was a "crude violation" of international rules. | |
| A note protesting against the presence of an official in "the territory of another state without preliminary agreement" had been sent, he added. | |
| Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine for Russia on 16 March, in a poll condemned as illegal by the UN General Assembly. | |
| Mr Medvedev announced that he would make Crimea a special economic zone. He also vowed to quickly boost salaries and pensions, and to improve education, healthcare and local infrastructure. |