MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow is ready to continue cooperation with partners in the Normandy format for settlement in the east of Ukraine, Lavrov said.
"Of course, we talked about Ukraine. Our common position: the need for full implementation of the Minsk package of measures… We in Russia proceed from the premise that more will is needed on the part of the authorities in Kiev in order for them to be implemented. We will, of course, be also ready to continue interaction, this was also discussed today, within the Normandy format framework, as a very important external support for the Contact Group," Lavrov said.
he military conflict in Ukraine erupted in 2014 after the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as well as the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government that came to power in what they perceived to be a coup. The OSCE mission was deployed in eastern Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire in the region, as both Kiev and the local militias have accused each other of violating the Minsk truce deal signed in February 2015.
