MOSCOW, July 01. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation with his Italian counterpart Federica Mogherini to discuss possible measures to help ensure a lasting ceasefire regime in Ukraine’s southeastern regions and to bring the situation back to the negotiations track, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the conversation was initiated by the Italian side.

“The Russian foreign minister wished Federica Mogherini every success in her activities as the foreign minister of the country presiding in the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year,” the ministry said. “The two ministers agree to maintain regular contacts on all issues of mutual interest.”

“The sides also discussed the crisis in Ukraine,” the Russian foreign ministry noted. “They exchanged view on possible measures to help ensure a lasting ceasefire regime in Ukraine’s southeastern regions and to bring the situation back to the track of negotiations, including to organize a meeting of the contact group the soonest possible.”

“Sergei Lavrov informed the Italian foreign minister about key elements of the four-party declaration agreed by the foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine, which hailed the Russian initiative to commission representatives of Ukraine’s border service and OSCE observers to three border check points on the Russian territory,” the ministry said. “The Russian minister expressed deep regret that the Ukrainian side had refused to publish the agreed document.”

According to earlier reports, the foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine had a telephone conversation late on June 30.