MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) – The scheduled four-party talks in Geneva are very important and the Kiev authorities need to speak with the common people in eastern Ukraine and not their appointees, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a live Q&A session with the public Thursday.
“I hope that it will be possible to understand how today’s [Ukrainian] powers are moving and dragging the country with them into such a hole and over such a cliff. That’s why the beginning of today’s talks is very important, because it’s very important today to think together about how to get out of the situation and offer people a real, non-ostentatious dialogue. The Kiev leaders come today to the East and who are they meeting with? They’re meeting with their appointees,” Putin said.
A four-party meeting on Ukraine is scheduled for later today in the Swiss city of Geneva. The top diplomats from Russia, US, EU and the interim Ukrainian foreign minister will try to find a solution to the crisis in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier said that de-escalation of tensions, disarmament of illegal armed groups and constitutional reforms in the crisis-torn country will all be discussed.
Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander announced Tuesday the start of a military operation, involving armed forces, against pro-federalization protesters. Russia strongly condemned the move, calling it an extremely dangerous development and urging Kiev authorities to engage in dialogue instead.
