Kerry, Lavrov Discuss Efforts To Maintain Cease-Fire In Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has pressed his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to ensure that Moscow respects the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, the State Department said.
In a telephone call to Lavrov, Kerry "urged Russia to seize the opportunity of upcoming meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group and its Working Groups to accelerate progress on implementing the Minsk agreements," which were signed in February, said department spokesman John Kirby.
Moscow denies supporting the rebel campaign, but it has agreed to terms that by the end of the year would give Kyiv back control of a 400-kilometer stretch of the Russian-Ukrainian frontier that Russian-backed insurgents allegedly use to smuggle in weapons and tanks.
In the conversation, Lavrov stressed the importance of "establishing a direct dialogue between the [Kyiv] government and the self-proclaimed unrecognized Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Based on reporting by AFP and TASS
That's all for the Live Blog today. Join us again on Tuesday for the latest news on Ukraine.
From the RFE/RL news desk:
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on June 15 that it hoped a reported U.S. plan to station tanks and heavy weapons in NATO states on Russia's border would not go ahead.
"We hope that reason will prevail and the situation in Europe will be prevented from sliding into a new military confrontation which may have dangerous consequences," the ministry said in a statement.
Citing U.S. and allied officials, The New York Times reported on June 13 that Washington planned to store heavy military equipment in several Baltic and Eastern European countries to reassure allies made uneasy by Russia's action in Ukraine and to deter aggression.
Poland and Lithuania confirmed they were in talks with Washington on stationing heavy arms in warehouses in the region.
Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said Warsaw expects a final answer from Washington "within a few weeks."
The Kremlin has declined to comment on the reports.
Based on reports by Reuters and Interfax
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