Moscow Urges Kiev to Take First Step to Settle Ukraine Crisis
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russia is ready for the widest possible cooperation on the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, but the first step along that path should be taken by the Ukrainian side, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russia's Channel One television on Sunday.
"The Ukrainian authorities should be the first to step forward, stretch out a hand to the entire Ukrainian people and to all the regions, and invite them to engage in an equal and open dialogue on their country's future. We will be fully ready to closely cooperate on that path," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Voice of Russia.
He criticized the proposed format for a contact group on Ukraine, in which Moscow and Kiev are supposed to work their way towards agreement under the West's supervision.
It's a wrong format, Lavrov said.
"We favor a different approach. If our western partners are ready, then Russia and the United States could form a support group on Ukraine and formulate common calls to those now ruling in Kiev to initiate a nationwide dialogue and invite all the political forces – naturally not the armed radicals – and all the regions to engage in equal talks," Lavrov added.
