Lavrov to meet with Germany, France, Ukraine's FMs in Berlin

Lavrov to meet with Germany, France, Ukraine's FMs in Berlin

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov is expected to take part in a meeting Wednesday with the Foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Ukraine. The talks are to take place in Berlin and are aimed to boost efforts towards settling the Ukrainian crisis.

Russia's Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday night that Lavrov, during a telephone conversation with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, had welcomed the idea of meeting in such a format:

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov

"In furtherance of efforts to bring the situation back to the negotiating channel, the proposal made by Frank-Walter Steinmeier to hold a meeting in Berlin on July 2 of the Foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine in Berlin was supported with due regard for the understandings reached during their teleconference on June 30 on instructions of the leaders of the four states."

Lavrov and Steinmeier discussed the Ukrainian situation in the scope of Ukrainian President Poroshenko's decision not to extend the ceasefire, the Ministry official pointed out.

"Both Ministers expressed concern in view of the intensification of combat actions in Ukraine's southeast, called for putting an end to the bloodshed, and declared in favour of an urgent resumption of the activities of the Contac Group with a view to fixing by the sides of matters regarding cessation of fire and the creation of conditions for the start of talks," the official emphasized.

On Monday, Lavrov conveyed the proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to post officials of Ukraine's Border Service and OSCE observers at Ukraine's border-crossing stations for joint monitoring and clearance of any possible suspicions.

Lavrov expressed hope that the Russian president's initiative would enable those, on whom this depends, to ensure the decision on the ceasefire extension.

Russia's FM discusses Ukrainian issue with US Secretary of State by phone on Tuesday

The US should employ its resources to persuade the Ukrainian authorities that their course is destructive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested during his telephone conversation with the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday. He has also drawn attention of the latter that Russian citizen Kostantin Yaroshenko kept at a US prison needed urgent medical assistance, the Russian foreign ministry said, reports ITAR-TASS.

"Lavrov drew Kerry's attention to the necessity of urgent medical assistance to Russian citizen Kostantin Yaroshenko, who had been illegally arrested by the US secret services in Liberia and taken to the United States to be sentenced to a long prison term," the ministry said.

Speaking on Ukraine,"Lavrov emphasized that the President Petr Poroshenko's decision not to extend the armistice undermines the agreements reached earlier between the leaders of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine and starts a new cycle of bloodshed with consequences unpredictable for the Ukrainian state," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

Moscow proposes deploying OSCE observers at Russian checkpoints on border with Ukraine-Lavrov

Russia plans to submit a draft resolution to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that will give OSCE observers access to Russian checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. "We will be ready to submit a draft resolution to the OSCE's Permanent Council shortly, authorizing the deployment of OSCE observers at Russian border checkpoints, which is expected to guarantee control over their transparency and to demonstrate that these border checkpoints are not being used for illegal purposes," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

President Vladimir Putin has proposed that Ukrainian border guards and observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe be given access to the Russian side of the border in order to launch joint controls over the stretches, where Ukrainian border crossing checkpoints have been seized by the militia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a video statement after telephone talks between the Russian, Ukrainian, French and German leaders.


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