Moscow takes efforts to revive peace process in Ukraine - Lavrov

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. Moscow is taking efforts to revive the peaceful process in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. “We are convinced that the peace process needs to be revived,” the Russian foreign minister said. “We’re taking necessary efforts for this, first of all, to start a full-fledged, sustainable and direct dialog between Kiev and self-defense militia,” he said. “As far as I know, certain contacts are expected between them in the coming days,” the Russian foreign minister said, adding Russia was doing everything possible to contribute to these contacts. “We expect that our Western partners will not stay aside either,” he added. The Russian foreign minister said he hoped that European countries, primarily Germany and France participating in the Normandy format but chiefly the United States “will not do anything that would create an impression for the Kiev authorities that all of their actions automatically gain support in the West.” “We do not hear any political statements addressed to Kiev by Western capitals either on its reliance on military force or the absence of any progress in the reformation of the country’s political system,” the Russian foreign minister said. “Without this, we’ll not resolve the systemic problem that lies inside a profound intra-Ukrainian crisis,” Lavrov said. Read more