MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow eager to start a “de-ideological dialogue” between the Customs Union members and Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.
"We support finding a way to harmonizing relations between Ukraine and the Customs Union, a free trade zone with the CIS and with the European Union in the area of economy. We are sure that willingness and desire will be guided according to the norms of the WTO and other norms international law, and we can agree on all of these issues," Lavrov said during the briefing.
"The Russian and Ukrainian experts have recently discussed a number of economic problems. The preliminary results of the consultations will be reported in Minsk tomorrow, and I hope they will help us start a practical and de-ideological dialogue that will take into account the legitimate interests of all participants in this process," Lavrov said.
Before the upcoming summit in Minsk was announced, another meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine had been held in Berlin. The ministers had been unable to reach a conclusive decision on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis but the sides had made progress on certain points.
Kiev launched a special operation in eastern Ukraine in mid-April to suppress independence supporters who refused to recognize the legitimacy of newly instated authorities.
Moscow has repeatedly urged the Ukrainian authorities to immediately stop the punitive operation and seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
