MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Russia has called on the European Union to refrain from steps encouraging Kiev, directly or indirectly, to dodge the implementation of the Minsk agreements, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko’s consultations with Deputy Secretary General and Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora.
"The sides exchanged views on the Ukrainian conflict and stressed the necessity of complete and unconditional implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures, which is the sole basis of the conflict settlement within the frames of international law. The Russian side called on the European Union to refrain from steps encouraging Kiev, directly or indirectly, to evade implementation of the Minsk agreements," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, the sides also discussed the current state of and prospects for further development of relations between Russia and the European Union, including a schedule of political dialogue. "During the discussion of military-political aspects of European security, the Russian side explained its proposals on the long-term legally binding security guarantees," the ministry said, adding that other topics included the situation in the Western Balkans, in Syria, in Libya, and in Afghanistan, as well as prospects for the Middle East settlement.
Also on Tuesday, Mora met with Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko to discuss the situation in the CIS.