Lavrov to participate in quadripartite conference on Ukrainian issue in Geneva
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in a quadripartite conference on Ukrainian issue, a source in Russia’s delegation told RIA Novosti news agency.
“Lavrov has left for Geneva to participate in a conference on Ukrainian issue,” the source said.
It was reported earlier, that Geneva would see a conference of the US, the EU, Russia and Ukraine; the countries will discuss the ways of the regulation of Ukrainian crisis.
It was also reported that Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the EU, as well as the US Secretary of State John Kerry would take part in the conference.
Last Saturday, Andrii Deshchytsia, acting as Ukrainian Foreign Minister, confirmed that he would take part in the conference.
On February 22, Ukraine saw a coup; the Verkhovna Rada ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, changed the Constitution and set the presidential elections for May 25. Russia considers that the current government is illegitimate.
US Secretary of State arrives in Geneva for crunch Ukraine talks
US Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Geneva Wednesday for high-stake talks on the escalating crisis in Ukraine, which faces the threat of splitting up as the government loses control of the separatist east.
Kerry is due to meet with his Russian, Ukrainian and EU counterparts on Thursday in a bid to defuse soaring tensions in the ex-Soviet satellite where pro-Russian militants that Kiev says are backed by Moscow have taken control of parts of the southeast.
Peaceful solution to Ukraine crisis will be found in Geneva, says Sikorski
Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said he is convinced that the upcoming four-party meeting on the Ukrainian crisis in Geneva will help find solutions that will prevent any further escalation of the situation in Ukraine.
The Western world will not “sell” Ukraine at the meeting of the US, the European Union, Ukraine and Russia, which will be held in Geneva on Thursday, Sikorski told the Polsat News online television channel.
The West wants this conflict to be settled without any further escalation, he said.
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