Russian, French foreign ministers call for parallel resolution of Donbas security issues, fulfillment of Kyiv's political obligations
MOSCOW. Sept 17 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault discussed Syria and Ukraine on the phone on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"Both ministers definitively underlined a lack of alternative to the bona fide fulfillment of the Minsk agreements, including parallel resolution of security issues and fulfillment of Kyiv's obligations regarding political aspects of the settlement process," the ministry said in a report published on its website.
The French minister informed Lavrov about the outcome of the trip to Kyiv he had together with German colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier on September 14-15. The sides exchanged opinions on the resolution of crisis in southeastern Ukraine in that context.
Lavrov called Ayrault's attention to "the ongoing acts of violence against Russian missions to Ukraine" and urged France "to influence Kyiv so that the latter takes comprehensive measures towards the provision of security of Russian diplomatic and consular missions, especially in the context of the September 18 elections of the State Duma," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian and French foreign ministers also conferred on the Syria settlement process. The French minister welcomed the September 9 agreement on Syria reached by Russia and the United States.
"Jean-Marc Ayrault supported the Russian stance in favor of disclosing related documents," the report said.
The ministers highlighted certain aspects of the effort to resume the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and some issues from the bilateral agenda.
The conversation was initiated by the French side, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
