Russian, German FMs discuss Ukraine. - German FM urges cooperation, not confrontation with Russia over Ukraine

Russian foreign minister had a telephone conversation on Sunday with German counterpart to discuss the situation in Ukraine on the initiative of Germany, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "The parties continued exchanging views on the situation in Ukraine, on prospects of its further development and on joint moves to put the conflict on the track of political settlement in compliance with the roadmap plan, proposed by Switzerland as the country holding the rotating OSCE presidency," it said on its website.

Sergei Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier "expressed concern about the continuing clashes and agreed that the situation must be de-escalated urgently, the violence should be stopped in order to avoid further fatalities and favorable conditions should be created for a truly comprehensive national dialogue on constitutional reform," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The parties also spoke about the importance of roundtable discussions, taking into account that the interests of the country's southeastern regions must be duly represented," it said.

Lavrov pointed out that Kiev must stop using force against protesters as the April 17 Geneva statement requires, and commended the role of the OSCE's special monitoring mission in areas of confrontation in promoting accords on the content and sequence of practical steps to ease tensions.
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• German FM urges cooperation, not confrontation with Russia over Ukraine

Cooperation with Moscow is crucial in many important issues, including a peace settlement in Syria, Afghanistan and the Iranian nuclear program, he said in an interview with the Die Thüringischen Landeszeitung newspaper.

Of late, Steinmeier has been criticized by conservative-minded CDU/CSU politicians and SDPG representatives, who are displeased with his department's attitude towards Russia amid the crisis in Ukraine and would like it to see it coordinating its actions more closely with other European Union member states. Some argue that Germany doesn't take proper account of Russia’s interests.

Steinmeier acknowledged in the interview that he saw no clear strategy that could guarantee success but expressed confidence that the conflict in Ukraine could and must be resolved peacefully, promising to do all in his power to achieve that.

The Ukrainian crisis won't disappear with the wave of a magic wand, the minister said. He fears that if no peaceful solution is found, the further escalation of the crisis might cause a new split in Europe.

Speaking about sanctions, Steinmeier warned that they might hit weaker European economies. Those calling for economic sanctions should know that "we will all have to bear the costs," he said.......http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_05_18/Russian-German-FMs-discuss-Ukraine-6252/

18/5/14
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