Russia not clinging to G8 format, no problem if G8 doesn't meet - Lavrov
24 March 2014, 22:08 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday he saw no 'great tragedy' if Moscow was expelled from the Group of Eight (G8) club of leading nations for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.
If our Western partners think that this format has outlived itself, then so be it. At the very least, we are not trying to hold on to this format, and we see no great tragedy if it (the G8) does not meet,' Lavrov told reporters after holding separate talks with both US Secretary of State John Kerry and Ukraine's interim Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya.
No one can expel Russia from the G8 as it is an informal club, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
'As to the G8, as you know the G8 is an informal club, no one issues membership cards and by default no one can expel anyone from there,' Lavrov told a news conference in The Hague on Monday.
'If the G8 has played its role - and many think so - because with the creation of the G20 all economic and financial issues are discussed there and the G8 in general has existed because it is a forum for debates between the leading Western nations and Russia,' he said.
'It discussed the Iranian nuclear issue, the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, the Syrian situation, the Balkans and may other things. But in general there are other formats to discuss these things: the UN Security Council, there is the Quartet for the Middle East settlement, there is the Sextet for the Iranian nuclear issue and so on,' Lavrov said.
Situation in Ukraine cannot be settled without constitutional reform - Lavrov
Situation in Ukraine cannot be resolved without a broad constitutional reform. This vision was outlined at the meeting of Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry and acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Deshchtya.
'Large scale constitutional reform is needed, which will involve all regions', announced Lavrov to reporters in Hague on Monday. He said that he spoke about it during his meeting in the Hague with John Kerry and A. Deschitsya.
As the minister stressed, 'we cannot impose this on Ukrainian leaders, but it is our assessment of the situation.'
'I have spoken about same things with acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, who requested the meeting, and we have set out the steps that have to be appointed by the Verkhovna Rada leaders in order to finally establish normal national dialogue' Lavrov stated.
Lavrov, Kerry discussing Syria, Ukraine on sidelines of Nuclear Security Summit
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are holding a meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague.
The discussion is expected to focus on nuclear security, Syria and Ukraine.
A source in the Russian delegation told reporters earlier in the day that Lavrov was also scheduled to meet with acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchitsa at his request.
Russia fully complies with its nuclear security obligations - Russian FM
Russia has been fully complying with its obligations in the field of nuclear safety, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said opening the Nuclear Security Summit in the Hague. 'We consistently implement the commitments undertaken during the Seoul summit. In November 2012 and December 2013, together with the IAEA we held workshops on nuclear culture, primarily for professionals in the countries that operate, build and plan to construct nuclear power reactors developed in Russia,' the minister said.
'We had the Guard-2012 maneuvers in the course of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism in September 2012 in the Moscow Region. Experts from more than 50 countries attended the event,' Lavrov added.
Hague Nuclear Security Summit: Ukraine is on agenda during Lavrov-Kerry meeting
A summit on nuclear security opens here on Monday. It will be attended by the leaders of over 50 countries and five international organizations, among them US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The Russian delegation is led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov. BRICS Foreign ministers are expected to meet on the sidelines of the forum and Lavrov is to hold bilateral talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Dutch government official Peter de Clercq, who is in charge of preparations for the two-day summit, told Itar-Tass earlier that there would be three items on the agenda. 'The first item will be a cutback in the stocks of dangerous radioactive substances highly enriched uranium and plutoniumn which can be used for the development of nuclear weapons, and a cut in the number of facilities where they are kept. The second item concerns an improvement in the protection of facilities proper, and the third one deals with the strengthening of international cooperation in the field of nuclear security,' he said.
'A substantial progress has been made on each of these items in the past several years,' de Clercq emphasized. 'Thus, radioactie substances have diminished in scope and many countries took additional measures to ensure their protection and expressed readiness to receive groups of international inspectors who thoroughly verify the regime of nuclear security of the state and work out recommendations'.
Russia's Foreign Ministry analysts pointed out in the run-up to the forum that Moscow consistently fulfils international obligatins in the field of nuclear security and joined all the main international-legal mechanisms: the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nucleat Material and 2005 Amemdents to it, as well as the International Convention on the Supression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The Ministry analysts recalled, 'There are no nuclear materials, facilities in the country's territory, or physical protection level causing apprehensions. All nuclear materials, places for their storage and respective facilities, as well as the transportation of nuclear materials are accopanied with the necessary safety measures'.
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry officials expressed cocern over the fact that not all countries hurry to assume legal obligations in this respect.
As a result of the summit, a communique is to be adopted to deal with further moves necessary for enhancing the nuclear security regime.
This summit will be a third one. The first one was held in Washington in 2010 and the second one in Seoul in 2012.
At the same time, organizers point out, the nuclear security issue at the summit may recede into the background in view of the situation in Ukraine. This issue will be a subject of discussion at a meeting of G7 countries - Britain, Germany Italy, Canada, France, the USA, and Japan.
Ukraine-related themes will be also touched upon during a meeting between Russia's Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State.
Lavrov to meet with Kerry at Hague Nuclear Security Summit - Russian Foreign Ministry
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry at a Nuclear Security Summit in the Hague, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.
It is assumed that the parties will discuss the political crisis in Ukraine. The Nuclear Security Summit will be held March 24-25 in the Hague.
Russian FM Lavrov to meet US counterpart Kerry in The Hague – Moscow
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are likely to meet in The Hague, a Russian Foreign Ministry source confirmed to Itar-Tass on Saturday. 'Such a meeting is planned,' he said. On Friday, State Department official spokesperson Jen Psaki spoke of the planned meeting between the senior Russian and US diplomats but no exact date was given.
It is known that Kerry will accompany Barack Obama on his visits to The Hague, Rome, Vatican City and Riyadh from March 24 to 28.
As the Russian Foreign Ministry reported earlier, the minister and state secretary had agreed to stay in contact on Ukraine, including to discuss ways to de-escalate the situation and promote the launch of Ukraine's constitutional reform with the full participation of all the regions of the country.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he expects to see Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Europe next week to discuss the Ukraine crisis.
Kerry, who is going to The Hague to meet with European allies, said he thought there would be a meeting with Lavrov on the side. 'So hopefully we will see where we are at that point in time,' he said.
His comments came after the Russian parliament ratified a treaty on reunification of Crimea and Russia.
Voice of Russia, RIA, Interfax, TASS
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