People fleeing war and persecution must be welcomed into France, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Sunday as Europe faces a mounting migrant crisis.

"Each asylum demand must be examined rapidly," he told members of the ruling Socialist Party gathered in the western town of La Rochelle.

The attitude of a number of eastern European countries towards the migrant crisis facing the EU is "scandalous", French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday, pointing in particular to an anti-migrant barrier in Hungary.

"When I see a certain number of European countries, particularly in the east, who do not accept quotas (of migrants), I find it scandalous," he told Europe 1 radio.

European countries will increase identity checks and baggage controls on trains after American passengers thwarted an attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, France's interior minister said Saturday.

Bernard Cazeneuve said the checks would be carried out "everywhere it is necessary" but did not give other details. He spoke after an emergency meeting in Paris with top security and transport officials from nine countries and the European Union in the wake of last week's attack attempt.

The leaders of France, Germany and Russia discussed the Ukraine crisis over the phone on Saturday and agreed to hold a new summit in the coming weeks, said the French presidency.

Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin once again reaffirmed their support for the "Minsk II" peace measures agreed in February. 

A top Republican from the U.S. Congress on Saturday blasted the Iran nuclear deal as "deeply flawed" and said the agreement would make the world "less safe."

Congress is due to vote next month on whether to endorse the deal reached in July between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

A French soldier has been killed by a colleague in "accidental fire" in an army camp in Mali, the army said on Saturday. 

Marine Baptiste Truffaux was shot by a fellow soldier on Thursday at a camp in Gao. 

The Maronite bishop of Beirut, Boulos Matar, said Friday that a Christian-Muslim summit scheduled to be held in Bkirki next week is aimed at stressing the importance of swiftly electing a president and discussing the demands of anti-government demonstrators.

Matar told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the summit which will be held on Monday will focus on two main issues – the election of a head of state as soon as possible and the demands of the people.

Ties between the EU and Russia remain at their lowest ebb over the conflict in Ukraine, ahead of a series of key talks including a visit by President Petro Poroshenko to Brussels on Thursday.

Renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Moscow rebels and Kiev's government forces has made a mockery of a February ceasefire, while the European Union has renewed tough sanctions against Russia.

European ministers will gather in Paris for security talks at the weekend following last week's "targeted and premeditated" jihadist attack on a high-speed train that was foiled by passengers, it was announced Wednesday.

Prosecutors have charged 25-year-old Moroccan Ayoub El Khazzani over the attack, which saw him watch a jihadist video on his phone before entering a toilet in the train, remove his shirt, and step out armed with an assault rifle, 270 rounds of ammunition and a Luger pistol strapped to his chest.

Three people were killed and four others seriously wounded on Tuesday in a shootout at a gypsy camp in northern France, authorities said.

Among the victims were a man, a woman and a young child, while two police officers and a child were wounded