MOSCOW, May 29. /ITAR-TASS/. It is impossible to isolate Russia, it is an unrealistic task, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“Recently, when answering a similar question, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was impossible to isolate such country as Russia, that it was an unrealistic task,” Lavrov said. “To have an idea of whether Russia could be isolated, it is sufficient to recall the latest St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, to see the big number of guests from various countries it attracted and to feel the atmosphere of the event - practical approaches and the sense of humor.”

“The combination of these factors will give an answer to the question whether efforts to isolate Russia have succeeded,” Lavrov stressed.

 

Lavrov calls for investigating crimes in Ukraine

A probe into crimes committed in the country is important for a political process in Ukraine, Lavrov said after a meeting with visiting Venezuelan counterpart Elias Jaua in the Russian capital on Thursday.

“Certainly, an investigation of crimes committed in Ukraine should be important for a process that should be started in the country,” the minister noted.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should show insistency in a transparent investigation of tragic events in the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odessa on May 2, Lavrov said.

“On May 19, I sent letters to the UN general secretary, the Organiяation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with an appeal to ensure an unbiased international probe, taking into account a massive Ukrainian and international uproar to what had happened in the city of Odessa,” Lavrov said.

“I believe that the UN general secretary would be able to show insistency to make an investigation into the Odessa tragedy transparent and unbiased,” the foreign minister noted.