Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated the need for direct dialogue between the Kyiv authorities and Ukraine's southeastern regions.
“The role of Russia, the U.S., Europe and any other states concerned is not to shelter this Ukrainian side or the other. Rather, their role is to help launch direct dialogue between those who came to power in Kyiv and their opponents, primarily in the southeast of the country,” Lavrov said after a meeting with Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz on April 30.
“A few days ago an attempt was made to organize such a dialogue in the form of a roundtable between the leaders in Kyiv and the opposition under the auspices of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe],” he said.
“However, the U.S. and EU representatives blocked this initiative. It is sad. We will continue to insist on the full implementation of the Geneva statement, from which our partners are trying to move away today,” Lavrov said.
