Russia is concerned about the developments in Ukraine, which are reminiscent of Kiev’s preparation for hostilities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday following talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
“As for the situation with the implementation of the Minsk agreements of February 12, we are really very much concerned about the current state of affairs,” he noted. “I regularly discuss the issue with my colleagues. The other day I spoke with [US Secretary of State] John Kerry and [German Foreign Minister] Frank-Walter Steinmeier. We also conveyed the appropriate assessments to Paris as another country, which, along with Germany and Russia, is a guarantor of the Minsk agreements.”
“We are concerned about the recent developments, which strongly resemble preparations for hostilities,” Lavrov said.
According to the Russian diplomat, Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko’s statements about Russia’s aggression only demonstrated his inability to fulfill his commitments.
“The person who makes such statements is more concerned about supporting Russophobia in the West and thus diverting attention from his inability to fulfill what he signed for [Minsk agreements],” Lavrov said.
The minister stated that Russia is ready to hold a meeting in the Normandy format at the level of experts.
“I think that it necessary because the Normandy Quartet [Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine] supported the agreements from February 12 which were signed by representatives of Donetsk, Lugansk and Kiev with participation of Russia and OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe],” the foreign minister said.
“We are ready to hold a meeting, at first at the level of experts, to put two documents on the table – Minsk’s Package of measures and those amendments to the Constitution that were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament], and also those documents that were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on holding local election in Donbas and granting special status to these territories,” Lavrov continued.
“Simply comparing [Ukrainian President] Petro Poroshenko’s commitments and what Kiev really did in the end should be very interesting,” he noted.
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