VIENNA, May 06. /ITAR-TASS/. Kiev and Moscow have mapped out their positions on a possible continuation of the talks in Geneva on defusing the crisis in Ukraine.
Ukraine will agree to a second round of talks in Geneva if Russia supports the presidential election, which the authorities have scheduled for May 25, Ukraine's Acting Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia told a news conference onTuesday.
“If we get a confirmation that all the sides involved in the Geneva format are committed to abiding by the document, which will likely be coordinated at the next meeting, then we’ll support a proposal of this kind,” Deshchytsia said.
He added that the government sees the presidential election as an absolute priority. “If Russia is ready to support the election and to stop the threats, then we’ll be able to hold the meeting,” Deshchytsia said.
He noted that Ukraine was not prepared to alter the format of Geneva negotiations on settling the crisis. “We agreed on this format and we hope it will be kept up as it is now,” Deshchytsia said when a reporter asked him about a possibility of participation of the eastern and southern regions of country in the Geneva talks.
“We’re speaking about participation of the Foreign Ministry in the talks because a legitimate government represents all regions of the country,” he said.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference Moscow thought a new round of Geneva talks was possible but it would require the presence of representatives of the southern and eastern regions.