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Russia’s Lavrov, Council of Europe chief discuss constitutional reforms in Ukraine

On Monday, Lavrov arrived in Brussels to take part in a session of the Council of Europe ministerial committee

© EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

BRUSSELS, March 19. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, have held talks, in the course of which they stressed the significance of a direct dialogue between Ukraine’s government and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the finalization of the constitutional reform in Ukraine before the end of this year, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its official page in Facebook.

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"The two sides stressed significance of system reforms in Ukraine, including the drafting of a new text of Ukraine’s Constitution before the end of this year," the report said. "They called for an unconditional compliance of all the parties (to the armed conflict in Ukraine - TASS) with the agreements reached in Minsk on February 12, 2015, one of which is the start of a direct dialogue between the Ukrainian government and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republic."

In the course of the conversation, Lavrov and Jagland also looked at various aspects of strengthening cooperation at the level of government in the format of the Council of Europe for the purpose of a fuller implementation of its humanitarian and legal mechanisms in the interests of European security.

On Monday, Lavrov arrived in Brussels to take part in a session of the Council of Europe ministerial committee. Apart from Thorbjorn Jagland, he met there with the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

The main official functions on the agenda of ministerial committee session have been scheduled for Tuesday, May 19.

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