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Russia sees no need for mediators to settle Kerch Strait incident

PARIS, November 27. /TASS/. Moscow does not see any need for mediators to resolve the situation over the Kerch Strait incident since the governments of Russia and Ukraine are capable of discussing the existing issues on their own, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday following talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

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Kremlin vows to announce Putin's stance on Kerch Strait incident

"Yesterday, [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation [around the Kerch Strait incident] in a telephone call. The Chancellor called Vladimir Vladimirovich, and a certain understanding had been reached, which, I think, would be implemented in the near future. I do not see the need for any mediators. I think that this is an absolutely practical matter. "If the Ukrainian side and its partners in Europe are interested that such incidents never occur again, a very strong signal must be sent to Kiev. And not by Russia, but by those countries who hold very close contacts with the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that such provocations are no longer committed," the top diplomat stressed.

"Practically, I think that at the level of the local border authorities of both countries, if there are some technical issues that Ukrainian side does not fully understand, it would be possible to address them," Lavrov stated.

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Sergey Lavrov Vladimir Putin France Angela Merkel KERCH STRAIT PROVOCATION

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