Russia says Ukraine vote not valid without talks with rebels

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday issued a veiled warning that the Kremlin won’t recognize Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election unless the Kiev government first submits to power-sharing talks with pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Lavrov also insisted that Ukraine’s interim government in Kiev recall its armed forces fighting to retake the dozen towns and cities seized by the separatists who Ukrainian and Western leaders contend are armed and instigated by Moscow.