MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – Settling the crisis in Ukraine is impossible without Russia’s assistance, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák said Monday.
“We are sure that solving the situation and stabilizing the situation in Ukraine is impossible without the active participation of the Russian Federation,” Lajčák said during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Lajčák called for settling the crisis in Ukraine through political means.
Lavrov said Russia and Slovakia have a common understanding that violence should be stopped in Ukraine and comprehensive dialogue involving all Ukrainian regions is needed in the country.
The sides agree that “even amid the deteriorated situation in Europe there is a need to continue working on expanding areas of cooperation,” the Russian foreign minister said.
At a meeting in Geneva on April 17, top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the EU and the US agreed on a number of conditions that urged the coup-imposed regime and its opposition in Ukraine to refrain from violence, extremism and provocations, to disarm militants and launch a national dialogue on constitutional reform.
Despite the deal, acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov launched a special operation in mid-April to crack down on pro-federalization protests.
Moscow has called on Kiev to immediately stop the military operation in southeastern Ukraine, expressing hopes that the West will “actively influence” Kiev to start work on national reconciliation in the country.
