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Lavrov calls for immediate stop to army operation in south-eastern Ukraine

He called for “coordinating the terms of ceasing fire, solving urgent humanitarian problems and starting a truly national dialogue on the future system in Ukraine”

MOSCOW, June 11 /ITAR-TASS/. In a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, June 11, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the need for Kiev to stop its army operation in the south-east of Ukraine as soon as possible.

He called for “coordinating the terms of ceasing fire, solving urgent humanitarian problems and starting a truly national dialogue on the future system in Ukraine”.

“Special emphasis was put on the importance of direct talks between the conflicting Ukrainian sides in order to come to agreement on all these tracks,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The telephone conversation took place at Kerry’s initiative. The minister and the secretary supported the efforts of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) aimed at implementing the roadmap for the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, which was drafted as a follow-up on the Geneva accords of April 17, 2014.

Lavrov and Kerry also discussed the need to complete the removal of chemical weapons from Syria and step up the political settlement in that country.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Sergey Lavrov Eastern Ukraine

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