MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti) – The “war party” in Kiev needs to be brought to reason and the United States is the only one able to do so, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
“Right now the main goal is the necessity to bring the ‘war party’ in Kiev to reason and only one who can actually do this is the US. Washington has a huge influence on Ukraine’s military authorities, and there are lots of facts [to back this up],” Lavrov said during a live televised joint press conference with Tunisian Foreign Minister Mongi Hamdi.
Lavrov said that it is necessary “to use the influence and as a whole the abilities of the US to send the necessary signals to change from attempts to solve the situation by using military means to a political process.”
Since mid-April, the Ukrainian government has been conducting a military operation in eastern Ukraine, attempting to suppress independence supporters who refused to acknowledge the newly instated authorities following a February 22 coup.
Thousands of civilians have suffered as a result of the ongoing conflict, with more than 2,500 people killed and over 6,000 injured.
Heavy clashes and shelling by the Ukrainian Army have led to a humanitarian crisis in the area, with water, food and power shortages.
The United States has backed the actions of the new Ukrainian government and accused Russia in escalating the situation in the country’s southeast.
Moscow has repeatedly said that it is not involved in Ukraine’s internal conflict, calling for an immediate stop to the bloodshed and has stressed that the crisis can only be resolved through peaceful dialogue.
