A Russian diplomat and his wife were stabbed in the Sudanese capital Tuesday by a man anguished by the death of his brother in violence-plagued Central African Republic, police said.

Khartoum police said the diplomat and his wife were wounded with a knife at the embassy gates, adding that their condition was "stable" without giving their names.

President Vladimir Putin pledged Tuesday that Russia would maintain a $15 billion loan and cuts on energy prices to Ukraine even if the opposition came to power.

"In direct answer to your question as to whether we will review our agreements on loans and energy if the opposition comes to power - no we will not," Putin told a news conference at the close of talks in Brussels with the European Union's top officials.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon in the upcoming days, media reports said on Tuesday.

According to al-Liwaa, the Russian official will stress during talks with senior officials the importance of forming a new cabinet.

Russia on Monday imposed a ban on Australian beef byproducts such as offal over the use of a growth stimulant allowed in some nations but that Moscow considers unsafe.

The temporary restrictions also affect Belarus and Kazakhstan -- two ex-Soviet nations that are part of a Moscow-led Customs Union.

The unrest in Ukraine should not be seen as a battle between the East and the West, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday.

Calling for a change in the narrative Hague said free trade between Ukraine and the European Union would benefit Russia too, as he urged restraint from government forces in the face of pro-EU protests.

The United States is in close contact with European allies to try to end the violence in Ukraine, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday.

"We will stand with the people of Ukraine," Kerry vowed at the World Economic Forum meeting in the Swiss town of Davos.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday sent a video message of support to anti-government protesters in Ukraine, wishing them luck and making a peace sign.

"I want to send a message to the people of the Ukraine to let them know that I wish them all the best of luck in their peaceful struggle for democracy and freedom," said the deeply tanned action star and former California governor.

France and Germany on Friday summoned the Ukrainian ambassador over Kiev's response to five days of pro-EU protests in which activists say five people have died in clashes with security forces.

"We want to show that we are serious with our criticism," German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters, after the French government made the same move.

An official Russian human rights report released Thursday lashed out at European Union nations for their "aggressive promotion" of the rights of sexual minorities.

The 150-page report on the state of human rights across the EU criticized the rise of xenophobia, racism, violent nationalism and chauvinism -- notably in eastern nations with Russian minorities -- as well as anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism.

The last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Thursday appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama to broker peace talks to end the deadly violence rocking Ukraine.

"I am sure that you are capable of achieving this aim. The sides fighting each other must sit down together for talks," the 82-year-old statesman said in an open letter published on the website of his Gorbachev Foundation.