Lavrov discusses Ukraine ‘demilitarization’ with counterparts
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held separate phone calls with his Ukrainian, German, and American counterparts over the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
During the Saturday calls with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Lavrov called on the Ukrainian army “to begin the demilitarization” of the flashpoint Shyrokine village, the Kremlin said.
Pro-Russia forces fighting the Kiev government in eastern Ukraine have already withdrawn from the strategic area 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the city of Mariupol, Lavrov said.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine’s east have experienced deadly clashes between the pro-Russians and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to silence the pro-Russians there.
During peace talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk on February 11-12, the leaders of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine reached a deal, dubbed Minsk II, on the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Ukraine’s front lines, constitutional reform in the country by the end of the year, and a ceasefire, which officially went into effect on February 15.
The Russian minister further urged his Ukrainian counterpart to “resolve the questions concerning the constitutional reform project,” aimed at granting more autonomy to Donetsk and Luhansk.
Lavrov also underscored Moscow’s discontent over Kiev’s exclusion of pro-Russian representatives in constitutional reform discussions in talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
"They (Ukrainian officials) can't just walk away from the framework of the (Minsk) obligations, in particular those concerning the direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk, and Luhansk," he told Kerry
Based on the Minsk II agreement, Kiev should grant a special status to some parts of Donetsk and Luhansk that are controlled by the pro-Moscow forces.
The crisis in Ukraine has left 6,500 people dead and 16,000 others injured in the past year, according to the United Nations.
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