Russian Foreign Ministry calls for immediate ceasefire, direct dialogue between Kyiv, Donbas
MOSCOW. Feb 5 (Interfax) - Russia insists on an immediate ceasefire in southeastern Ukraine and calls for dialogue between Kyiv and the militia, Russian Foreign Ministry official Alexander Lukashevich said.
"The most important thing now is to immediately halt all military action and restore direct dialogue between the Ukrainian authorities and representatives of the administrations of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions concerning the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The Russian Federation and a whole number of other countries have urged and continue to urge that," Lukashevich told a briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
Lukashevich said the actions taken by the official Kyiv indicate its intention to resolve the conflict using military force.
"Unfortunately, the public rhetoric of the Ukrainian administration and, the main thing, the real actions on the ground, as we say, taken by the Ukrainian military increasingly indicate their intention to use military force in the current situation despite all previously reached agreements and Kyiv's obligations to the international community," he said.
Lukashevich reiterated that Russia intends to continue promoting the negotiation process to resolve the conflict diplomatically.
"The recent initiatives of our President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate the conflict and to bring the conflict sides apart, which he stated in his address to Ukrainian President Poroshenko of January 15, are aimed at that," Lukashevich said.
The official also said the Russian-French-German top-level meeting, which will be held on Friday, February 6, will address the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.