KYIV. July 9 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has conditioned the normalization of the Ukrainian-Russian relationship with Russia's restitution of Crimea to Ukraine and withdrawal of support for rebels in the east.

"The relations with Russia will normalize when Crimea is returned, when Russia pulls out its armed forces from Ukrainian borders and stops supporting terrorist groups currently operating in Ukraine," Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivskyi told reporters on Wednesday.

"Our position is simple. We are certainly in favor of a diplomatic solution