WASHINGTON, July 28 (RIA Novosti) - US Secretary of State John Kerry in a phone conversation with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday called on Russia to stop arms deliveries to Ukraine but did not accept the denial of Russia supplying weapons to Ukraine's eastern regions, the US State Department said in a statement.
"During a phone call this afternoon, Secretary Kerry urged Foreign Minister Lavrov to stop the flow of heavy weapons and rocket and artillery fire from Russia into Ukraine, and to begin to contribute to deescalating the conflict. He did not accept Foreign Minister Lavrov’s denial that heavy weapons from Russia were contributing to the conflict," said in the statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier said in a statement following the phone call that "despite all the disagreements it was essential to reach an immediate ceasefire in the Ukrainian internal conflict and launch negotiations between the warring sides."
Lavrov also urged Kerry to order his subordinates not to hamper work of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) experts invited by Russia to Donetsk and Gukovo checkpoints on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Earlier reports suggested that the OSCE planned to provide drones for its monitoring mission in the war zone in the southeast of Ukraine and on the border with Russia. Earlier this month, Russia invited experts to assess the situation.
“The Secretary underlined our support for a mutual cease fire verified by the OSCE and reaffirmed our strong support for the international investigation to show the facts of MH17,” Kerry said, referring to a Malaysia Airlines plane that crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing 298 people.
The US said the airliner was downed by militia using a missile allegedly brought in from Russia.
Kerry urged Lavrov to "to stop the flow of heavy weapons and rocket and artillery fire from Russia into Ukraine, and to begin to contribute to deescalating the conflict," to which Lavrov repeated that Russia did not supply arms to Ukraine.
