PARIS, March 31 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed at talks in Paris on Sunday to seek a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, showing signs of agreement on the need for a federal constitution in the country.
The talks could signal the beginning of a de-escalation of the crisis in Ukraine, where southeastern Russian-speaking regions have refused to recognize the legitimacy of a new nationalist government that seized power in a coup last month. A federalized form of government would be a means of protecting the rights of the country’s minorities – who have felt threatened by the country’s new leadership – while preserving a unified Ukraine.
On his way home from a visit to the Middle East, Kerry made the unplanned stop in France for the talks with Lavrov, nearly two weeks after Crimea, a former Ukrainian region, rejoined Russia following a popular vote on reunification. That event was condemned by US and EU leaders, sparking a major row which Lavrov and Kerry attempted to begin to defuse in the meeting Sunday.
“We were united with John Kerry in thinking that Ukrainians should themselves ensure the inclusive nature of this process,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters. “We firmly believe that the current leadership in Kiev must offer all regions the right to participate in the constitutional reform process on an equal footing.”
The Russian foreign minister called for finding a compromise to preserve Ukraine as a single state. The country remains deeply divided between a largely Ukrainian-speaking west and a predominantly Russian-speaking east.
Kerry said the sides agreed to work with the new Ukrainian leadership to implement a number of steps towards de-escalation of the crisis, including the disarmament of irregular forces, providing for an inclusive constitutional reform process and ensuring free and fair elections monitored by the international community.
Although both Moscow and Washington agreed that Ukrainians have the right to decide their own fate, the diplomats failed to reach a concrete deal on the future of the country. Lavrov nonetheless described the negotiations as “constructive.”
Kerry reiterated the US stance that Russia’s actions in Crimea are illegal and voiced serious concerns about “the very large Russian force that is currently massing along Ukraine's borders.” Lavrov has categorically denied any plans for an invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said four international inspections earlier this month of areas in European Russia bordering Ukraine found no signs of Russian military activity.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told his US counterpart that Moscow had no plans to deploy troops in Ukraine and warned him against whipping up tensions in the region.
Crimea, formerly an autonomous republic within Ukraine, held a referendum earlier this month in which voters overwhelmingly supported a move to rejoin Russia after having been undemocratically gifted to Ukraine by Soviet leaders just over a half century ago.
Russia has consistently warned that the new government in Ukraine, which came to power last month unconstitutionally, has a dangerous fascist element of Ukrainian ultra-nationalism, leading Moscow to take steps to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
