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Lavrov, Kerry call for practical steps to support conflict settlement in Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the situation in Ukraine in a telephone conversation on Thursday
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov EPA/SERGEI CHIRIKOV
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
© EPA/SERGEI CHIRIKOV

MOSCOW, February 27. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry had a telephone conversation on Thursday, February 27, and discussed the situation in Ukraine.

“John Kerry called for cooperation in order to normalize the situation. The Russian side stressed the need to ensure the implementation of existing agreements, particularly the Agreement on the Settlement of Crisis in Ukraine of February 21, signed by the president and the opposition and certified by the ministers of foreign affairs of France, Germany and Poland, and supported by the United States,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Lavrov and Kerry noted the importance of practical measures to facilitate the implementation of the agreement to end the crisis in Ukraine as had been agreed by President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama in their telephone conversation on February 21.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the claims that the agreement of February 21 has already played its role “are not serious.”

“None of the listed tasks agreed on February 21 has lost its relevance. On the contrary, they have become even more important for preventing further polarization of society caused by radicals’ activity,” the ministry said.

The minister and the secretary also touched upon such issues as the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons and the plight of Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko who has been sentenced to a long prison term in the United States.