普京要求议会收回出兵乌克兰授权

President Vladimir Putin has asked the upper house of Russia's parliament to revoke the right it granted him in March to send the Russian military into Ukraine to defend Russian nationals and Russian-speaking Ukrainians

Mr. Putin had asked the Federation Council to authorize the use of Russian military force in Ukraine after the country's pro-Russian president was forced from power.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the new step was taken to "normalize" the situation in eastern Ukraine, "and also in connection with the beginning of trilateral talks on the issue."

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the move, with his office saying Tuesday that he views it as Mr. Putin's "first practical step" in support of the peace plan.

On Monday, pro-Russian separatist leaders joined Russian envoys and Ukrainian negotiators in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk for talks aimed at ending the crisis. Former president Leonid Kuchma represented Ukraine.

Late Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama urged Mr. Putin by telephone to help implement Mr. Poroshenko's peace plan, starting with the cease-fire the Ukrainian president declared on Friday.

Officials say further talks are set for this week.

The White House said the U.S. president called on Mr. Putin to pressure the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to observe the week-long cease-fire and to halt the flow of weapons across the border from Russia to Ukraine.

A leader of pro-Russian separatists battling Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine said Monday that the rebels will observe a truce until June 27.