Russia Returns Seized Ukrainian Ships Ahead of 4-Way Summit

(Bloomberg) -- Russia handed back three Ukrainian naval vessels it seized nearly a year ago near the Kerch Strait ahead of the first planned meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The ships, which were taken after a brief conflict by the strait that divides the Russian mainland and Crimea, were returned because investigators no longer needed them for their criminal probe, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Kyiv said it took Moscow nearly six months to implement a May 25 order by an international tribunal to hand over the boats.

The move comes as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to host Putin, Zelenskiy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Dec. 9 as part of “Normandy Format” talks to resolve tensions around the conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed fighters.

Putin informed Macron of the ship transfer in a phone call Monday in which the two also discussed the peace process, the Kremlin said in a statement. Last month saw the first breakthrough since a stalled 2015 peace accord as negotiators agreed on a schedule to hold elections and a new law granting the contested areas special status, paving the way for the December meeting.

Moscow said the ship handover wasn’t linked to the upcoming talks, Interfax news service reported Saturday, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russian coast guard vessels fired on three Ukrainian ships on Nov. 25 after claiming they defied orders to halt and detained 24 sailors, who were released as part of a prisoner swap in September.

--With assistance from Kateryna Choursina.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow at jrudnitsky@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net, Gregory L. White

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