NEW YORK, April 21, /ITAR-TASS/. Geoffrey Pyatt, the US Ambassador in Kiev, in an interview with the NBC television channel on Sunday, expressed confidence that the accords reached in Geneva last week give a chance for a settlement of the crisis in Ukraine diplomatically.
Mr. Pyatt said US officials are convinced that the Geneva accords are the best possibility as of now to achieve a de-escalation of the crisis in Ukraine diplomatically. and that they work persistently for that to happen. In so doing he pointed out that a " certain progress" was made from the viewpoint of implemting the provisions of the adopted document and that the USA has an intention to achieve success in this respect. Mr. Pyatt is confident that it is impossible to get out of the crisis in Ukraine militarily. The diplomat emphasized that the negotiators concentrated their efforts on diplomacy and economic aid to Ukraine.
On April 17, the participants in the meeting in Geneva representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the European Union (EU), and the United States adopted a comprehensive document on a setlement of the situation in Ukraine. The understanding that all the sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or provocative actions became the main provision of the document.
Russia's presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told the Russia-1 television channel on April 18 that the Kremlin is satisfied with the results of the meeting in Geneva of the Russian Federation, the US, the EU, and Ukraine on a settlement of the situation in that country but that those results are yet to be analyzed. "Many set great hopes (on the talks) and the very fact of the conduct of dialogue is a positive thing," Peskov stated. He said, "The productivity of the dialogue and its effectiveness are yet to be subject to an in-depth anlysis".
Peskov drew attention to the fact that over there in Geneva, "a certain document came into being, and Geneva's certain understanding developed as to what must be done to cope with the deepest crisis in Ukraine, especially in its eastern part".
"Simultaneously with the adoption of the document, statements were made from Washington that the US was continuing to work out a program for new sanctions (against Russia). This will hardly promote an atmosphere of dialogue. It is hardly possible to make statements, such as was recently articulated in Washington at summit level, to the effect that the US would be most closely monitoring how Russia would abide by its pledges," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out.