Karasin hopes Ukrainian coalition will focus on peace efforts, not hostilities against own people
BRUSSELS. Dec 1 (Interfax) - Russia is expecting the Ukrainian coalition to move towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told reporters in Brussels on Monday.
"We would like to believe that the new coalition will be thinking exactly in this direction and using the terminology of peace efforts rather than that of the anti-terrorist operation and some hostilities towards its own people," he said.
According to Karasin, there are opportunities for that.
"All of them are well known to the president, and the prime minister, and members of the government. They need to think hard and make decisions," the high-ranking Russian diplomat said.
No new date has yet been set for the next round of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, he said.
"We are awaiting a decision, primarily from the authorities in Kyiv and representatives of the southeastern Ukraine. It is the degree of their readiness that will largely determine the date of the new meeting of the Contact Group," the Russian deputy foreign minister said.
Karasin was in Brussels to attend a meeting of the eighth European Russian forum at the European Parliament on Monday.