19 Feb 2014 18:20

Ukraine crisis mediators must be chosen by Ukrainians - Lavrov

KUWAIT CITY. Feb 19 (Interfax) - It is the government and parliamentary opposition of Ukraine that must decide who to ask to be the possible mediator in the current Ukrainian crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted on Wednesday.

"We will support any form of external assistance in crisis settlement efforts by the current authorities in Ukraine within the Ukrainian constitutional framework. But it is up to the authorities and opposition, which represents a certain part of the population in [parliament], to make decisions," Lavrov told a news conference in Kuwait City.

"We don't want to be as intrusive as our Western partners are trying to be, nor do we advise anyone else to be. All it does is to hamper dialogue," Lavrov said.