Russia Has No Intentions to Send Troops to Ukraine, Says Lavrov
Moscow has no plans to send its troops to Ukraine as the move would go against Russia’s core interests in the region, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday. “We have no desire to send our troops to Ukraine, on the territory of a friendly state, on the territory where our brotherly people live,” Lavrov told reporters after quadrilateral talks on Ukrainian crisis in Geneva. “It is against Russia’s core interests,” Lavrov said.
He reiterated, though, that Moscow is deeply concerned about the discrimination of the Russian-speaking population, the Russian language and culture by Kiev authorities.
Lavrov denied allegations of the Russian military buildup in Crimea and said he had reassured his Western partners and Kiev that Russia would not violate its international obligations on military presence near borders with other countries.
“There is no military buildup there [in Crimea],” the minister said.
“There is our base there hosting as many naval personnel as required to maintain it.” “I can assure you that we will not deploy additional troops in Crimea or in any other region of the country in violation of Russia’s international obligations,” Lavrov said.
Four-party meeting approves document on deescalation of tensions in Ukraine – Lavrov
Four-party meeting has approved a document on deescalation of tension in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Russia, US, EU urge all sides in Ukraine to refrain from violence, the Russian foreign minister stressed. Russia will support OSCE mission in Ukraine towards dialogue, Lavrov noted. There is still a chance that the quadrilateral talks in Geneva on how to handle the current crisis in Ukraine could be wrapped up on Thursday, a Russian source close to negotiations said.
Talks on Ukraine standoff could end on Thursday – Russian diplomatic source
“The work continues. We hope that it will be finished today,” the source said. The source could not clarify what kind of a document may be adopted at the talks, but said it would be “a substantive text.” Western sources at the talks earlier expressed doubts about the possibility of finalizing negotiations by the end of the day.
Four-party talks on the crisis in Ukraine with delegates from Russia, the EU, and the US began in Geneva on Thursday. The meeting, aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine, is being attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia.
Quadripartite talks on Ukrainian crisis begin in Geneva
Lavrov and Kerry met behind closed doors ahead of the talks on Thursday morning. The Russian foreign minister earlier rejected allegations levied by Kiev that Russia would cancel the meeting. He also called groundless Ukrainea’s claims that the domestic political situation in the country will not be discussed at the meeting, adding that de-escalation, the disarmament of illegal groups, constitutional reform and the upcoming May elections will all be on the agenda.
Russia insists on a deep and transparent constitutional reform in Ukraine, involving all political and regional interests, especially in light of the pro-federalization rallies which have recently intensified in the country’s eastern regions. Moscow has called on Kiev authorities to respect the interests of all ethnic groups in the country and acknowledge that Russians have the same rights as Ukrainians, in particular, to respect the use of the Russian language, which has faced a ban on official use.
A Eastern Ukraine, which has a large proportion of Russian speakers, has been swept by rallies supporting federalization since last month.
Russian Foreign Minister 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.
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.
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