Ukraine truce can only resume through Contact Group - Lavrov
BERLIN. July 2 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is convinced that the ceasefire in Ukraine can only be negotiated in the format of the Contact Group.
"It is clear that when we say that a ceasefire needs to be negotiating, this can only be done in a format that represents both sides to the conflict and I am very hopeful this format will help achieve a result that we all want, to which we are exhorting," Lavrov told a press conference after talks with counterparts from Germany, France and Ukraine in Berlin on Wednesday.
"At this moment the Contact Group is the only mechanism representing both the authorities in Kyiv and militia leaders, and involve the OSCE and the Russian ambassador," the minister said.
"It is only on this basis, on the basis of dialogue, primarily, between the parties involved - the Ukrainian authorities and representatives of the southeast - that one can negotiate both a durable resolution of the crisis in general, and the conditions under which peace will be announced, and how to take into account the hopes and interests of all Ukrainians," Lavrov said.