Russian-Ukrainian talks should continue, but there are no approved plans - Russian FM

MOSCOW/NEW DELHI. April 1 (Interfax) - There are currently no definitely approved plans for talks with Ukraine, but they should continue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

"As for the Russian-Ukrainian talks, there are no definitely approved plans here, {but] the talks should continue," he told a press conference in New Delhi.

The agreements put on paper during the talks in Istanbul "should first take shape," he said.

"Our reaction is being prepared. There is progress there, in particular, as regards the recognition that Ukraine cannot be a bloc country, that Ukraine cannot seek happiness in NATO; a nuclear-free, non-bloc neutral status - these are things that are now understood to be absolutely necessary," the minister said.

"Similarly, we have seen much more understanding on another reality, I mean the situation with Crimea and in Donbas," he said.

"But as for potential further contacts, they are now under consideration; there will be an announcement," Lavrov said.

Russia wants security guarantees to be provided to Ukraine, Russia and all European countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"We want security guarantees to be provided to Ukraine, all European countries and Russia in accordance with the agreements that were adopted in the OSCE for many years and that proclaimed the principle that no country will ensure its security at the expense of the security of others," he said in New Delhi following a meeting with his Indian colleague Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Russia will be able to bypass Western sanctions, including with regard to military-technical cooperation, in its interaction with India, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"As for military cooperation, we have no doubts that we can find a solution," he said, responding to a question about the future of Indian-Russian military-technical cooperation amid the sanctions, including in regard to supplying S-400 systems.