19 Oct 2021 20:01

Lavrov: U.S. could significantly accelerate implementation of Minsk Agreements on Donbas if it wanted

MOSCOW. Oct 19 (Interfax) - The crisis in Ukraine could be settled very quickly if the United States had the desire to support the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"You don't necessarily have to be a member of the [Normandy] Four, and there is no need to turn the Four into a Five or a Seven in order to promote settlement somehow," Lavrov told journalists on Tuesday.

"The Americans wield a dominating influence on [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky and his team," Lavrov said. "And in the grand scheme of things, if the Americans should wish it and if the Americans are genuinely prepared to support the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, this issue can be settled very quickly," he said.