Putin tells Italian paper Russia backs Ukraine peace deal

A tattered Ukrainian national flag flutters in the wind at a position held by the Ukrainian armed forces near the town of Maryinka, eastern Ukraine, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia fully backs the Minsk peace agreements in Ukraine, but progress is being stalled by Kiev, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

"Russia is interested in and will strive to ensure the full and unconditional implementation of the Minsk Agreements," he said, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin, calling the February deal "right, just and feasible".