CPRF calls for resolving crisis in Ukraine through talks as soon as possible

MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - The Russian Communist Party (CPRF) leadership led by Gennady Zyuganov issued a statement on Ukraine on Tuesday calling for settling the crisis through talks as soon as possible.

"We sincerely hope for an early cessation of hostilities and a political settlement through negotiations. And we are contributing to this as much as possible," the statement reads.

The document said that the CPRF stands against bloodshed and very much hopes "that it will be possible to avoid serious losses not only among servicemen of the Russian army, but also soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, among whom there are many Russian people and deceived Ukrainians."

In the statement, the Communists appeal "to the European Union and the United States to condemn the terror of Bandera's followers against the Donbas cities, the practice of taking hostages as a human shield and the deployment of artillery guns and mortars in residential areas of the cities under their control."