MILAN, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia needs to take action if it wants no divide in Ukraine, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday on the sidelines of the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Milan.
"Vladimir Putin said it very clearly that he does not want a frozen conflict, he does not want a divided Ukraine," Cameron said on the heels of a high-level meeting between Russian, Ukrainian and key EU leaders.
"But if that is the case, then Russia now needs to take the actions to put in place what's been agreed - getting Russian troops out of Ukraine, getting heavy weapons out of Ukraine and respecting all the agreements and only recognizing one legitimate set of Ukrainian elections," Cameron added.
The 1.5-hour breakfast meeting on the margins of the ASEM summit in northern Italy brought together Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.
The talks were mediated by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who spoke favorably of the atmosphere at Friday's meeting, saying it made him feel more positive about the outlook for bridging the divide between Moscow and Kiev.
Russia and Ukraine have been at odds ever since the February coup in Kiev prompted the Black Sea republic of Crimea and two east Ukrainian regions to speak out against the new leadership.
The West has accused Russia of having a hand in the east Ukraine crisis and supplying independence supporters with weapons, a claim the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.
