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Russia accuses Ukraine of ignoring peace deal | Russia accuses Ukraine of ignoring peace deal |
(about 1 hour later) | |
MOSCOW — Opening a day of intense international diplomacy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday accused Ukrainian’s government of dragging its feet on implementing last year’s cease-fire agreement. | |
Although last year’s cease-fire between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces has largely held, none of the political elements, including calling a local election there, has been implemented. | |
Fighting in Ukraine’s industrial heartland which has close ties to Russia has killed more than 9,100 people and left large swathes of land under rebel control. | |
Germany, France and Russia have mediated talks between representatives of the government and separatists at talks in Minsk, Belarus, which resulted in a broad cease-fire agreement. | |
Lavrov, who was hosting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Moscow, told reporters that Kiev’s inaction is the main stumbling block to a peace settlement in the east. Lavrov said Germany had floated an idea of holding an election in the rebel-occupied territories this summer but Kiev said “no.” | |
“Minsk-2 cannot be reviewed, and we should resist attempts to undermine it,” Lavrov said. | |
Kiev insists it can’t hold the vote there because it cannot guarantee security for election officials. Rebels in their turn have said they will not allow Ukrainian right-wing parties to run, which the Ukrainian government says makes the election impossible. | |
Steinmeier on Wednesday urged both sides to comply with the partial withdrawal and warned of a possible escalation. | Steinmeier on Wednesday urged both sides to comply with the partial withdrawal and warned of a possible escalation. |
Both Steinmeier and Lavrov appeared to be in a jovial mood and Steinmeier said they both pledged to “look for way to overcome the differences that stand in our way to find a solution” for eastern Ukraine. | |
Steinmeier’s visit to Moscow opens a day of top diplomacy at the Russian capital with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arriving later for talks on Ukraine and Syria. | |
Steinmeier’s office said he will have a bilateral meeting with Kerry. It was not immediately clear if there will be a three-way meeting. | |
Now that a truce in Syria is in place, Kerry will be seeking clarity from President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov as to where Russia stands on a political transition for Syria, particularly on the future of President Bashar Assad, according to U.S. officials. | |
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Matthew Lee in Washington and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. | |
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |