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Top diplomat warns military force will not solve Donbass problems

Lavrov noted that Russia’s task is to make sure that the Russian-speaking population in the Donbas region can live peacefully

UKRAINE CRISIS

DVORIKI VILLAGE /Vladimir region/, August 11. /TASS/. The use of military force cannot ensure the rights of Donbass region residents. To do that, it is necessary to force extremists in Kiev to comply with the Minsk agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with the participants in the Russian Educational Youth Forum dubbed Terra Scientia on the Klyazma on Friday.

"It is in our interests to preserve this unique document, the Minsk agreements, which really ensures the rights of Donbass residents. The alternative to them is war, I believe no one wants a war with Ukraine. It is necessary to force extremists and neo-Nazis who are running the show in Ukraine to know their place and implement the agreements they put their names to," he said. "This problem cannot be solved with new bombardments and shelling."

Lavrov noted that Russia’s task is to make sure that the Russian-speaking population in the Donbas region can live peacefully in their native places and does not have to flee to other countries.

"I can see no other way," he said.

Tags

Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov

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