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Ukrainian top diplomat ready to discuss UN mission to Donbass with Lavrov

Kiev is ready to continue working with Moscow, the Ukrainian top diplomat says

KIEV, January 22. /TASS/. Ukraine and Russia have different positions on the United Nations mission to Donbass but Kiev is ready to continue working with Moscow on this matter, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin said at a press conference on Monday.

"The last time I discussed the logic of a peacekeeping operation with [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov, the conversation was difficult because our goals are far too different, but we have a clear position and will continue this work," Klimkin said.

On January 15, Klimin and Lavrov held a telephone conversation discussing the initiative to deploy a UN security mission to Donbass.

On December 14, 2017, while addressing his annual news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow did not have any objections against bringing Donbass under international control provided that Kiev held direct talks with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR). Putin pointed out that Russia had submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on deploying UN forces to Donbass in order to protect SMM members.