This is the first time the Russian leader is visiting an EU member state since the Ukrainian conflict.
Moscow counts about 300,000 Muslims of varied ethnicities among its nearly 17 million residents.
Americans see Russia as the nation's most critical threat, with 49 percent of those polled holding the view — up from 32 percent a year ago.
Authorities in Kiev say their troops have reported 10 incidents of shelling, but that they will not have a significant impact on the truce.
Over 5,000 people have been killed over the last 10 months in clashes between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces.
The Minsk ceasefire doesn't take effect until Sunday. That means people will still die in east Ukraine until then.
The eleventh-hour agreement could very well unravel if leaders can't hammer out solutions to the many unresolved issues.
Russia's nuclear force is set for major upgrades over the next few years, per a new Russian military doctrine.
TV censorship? Check. Radio censorship? Check. Online news censorship? Check. Next up? Internet browsing.
On Thursday, the IMF approved a $17.5 billion package to stabilize Ukraine's economy.
The leaders met in Minsk with a barely civil greeting, and outside, a Russian reporter barked at a Ukrainian news team.
“We are for peace ... [but] our country needs to be defended and we will do that to the end," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
The U.S. House of Representatives introduced new legislation to help Ukraine counter pro-Moscow rebels.
The ceasefire, if confirmed, would come just before Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders meet in Minsk.
U.S. prosecutors have stepped up efforts to establish whether HSBC helped Americans evade taxes.
It's a critical week for diplomacy on the Ukraine crisis, but Angela Merkel herself doubts it will do much good.
Merkel is expected to work on narrowing differences between Europe and the U.S. over the issue of providing arms to Ukrainian troops.
This will mark the first observation flight to be conducted by Russia this year under the Treaty on Open Skies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the move will open up new prospects for trade and investment between the two countries.
The comments by U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove were his strongest public intervention yet in the debate going on in Washington.
The diplomatic move, also involving France and Germany, is the result of increased Western concern over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The U.S. has hinted at sending weapons to Ukraine, but the German government is not on board.