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Lavrov, Kerry support efforts of OSCE Mission to Ukraine — Russian ForMin

avrov and Kerry also stressed the growing importance of soonest deescalation in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R)
© AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have supported the efforts of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Mission to Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Lavrov and Kerry also stressed the growing importance of soonest deescalation in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

It is necessary to make efforts to ensure lasting truce in Ukraine’s south-eastern regions, Lavrov said at a meeting with Kerry on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of member states of the OSCE in Switzerland’s Basel.

“Lavrov focused attention on the necessity of the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements, ensuring stable truce and continuation of direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk,” the ministry said.

The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on a number of pressing international and regional problems, including the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement and prospects for the settlement of the intra-Syrian conflict. Lavrov and Kerry expressed “commitment to give an impetus to the stalled Middle East peace process with a special focus on a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian problem,” the ministry said. “Both sides reiterated the importance of reaching lasting agreements between the Syrian government and a wide spectrum of political opposition forces on the principles of the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012.”

“The sides underscored the similarity of Russia’s and US approaches at the talks between the P5+1 group of international mediators and Iran on the Iranian nuclear program,” the ministry noted. “They noted the importance of the soonest reaching of a comprehensive agreement that would remove all concerns about the aims of Iran’s nuclear programme and concurrently guarantee Teheran’s right to develop peaceful nuclear technologies under control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”