Lavrov denies east Ukraine unrest was conducted by supposed Russian agents
12 April 2014, 19:30 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has denied allegations that the current unrest in southeastern Ukraine is the work of supposed Russian agents. Ukrainian acting Foreign Minister Andrei Deshchytsya called Lavrov on Saturday and, 'in the course of the conversation, tried to hold Russia accountable for the aggravation of the situation in the south and southeast of Ukraine,' the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
A statement recently published by the Russian Foreign Ministry says that there are no reasons to accuse Russia of aggravating of the situation in Ukraine's southern and southeastern regions.
In response, Sergey Lavrov said that there are no grounds for such claims. He added that the US has already put forward similar accusations against Russia, but failed to give any concrete evidence.
Mr. Lavrov also said that Ukraine's current authorities should try their best to prevent any acts of violence in Ukraine. The Russian minister also told his Ukrainian counterpart that Ukraine's government should stop threats to start attacks against protesters who have occupied several buildings in the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk. Ukraine's authorities should use only peaceful means, Mr. Lavrov said. They should start a dialogue with their opponents in the country's south and southeast, fulfill their lawful demands and involve the opposition in the formation of Ukraine's new constitution.
When Andrey Deshitsa asked about the possibility of holding a four-sided meeting between Russia, the US, the EU and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov answered that preparations for such a meeting are already under way. The details of the agenda, the format and the place of this meeting are still being discussed.
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