Russia urges Paris to prevent authorities in Kiev from using force against protesters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called on Paris to prevent Kiev authorities from using law enforcement officers or the armed forces against protesters in Ukrainian cities, the Russian Foreign Ministry said after a phone conversation between the Russian and French foreign ministers.

“The Russian side emphasized the necessity to promptly put an end to the Kiev-pursued policy of provocation aggravation of the already critically tense situation in Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions,” the ministry said.

Lavrov dismissed “well-known attempts by the United States and a number of European countries to lay the blame for events taking place there on Russia and called on Paris as one of the guarantors of the February 21 agreement to hold the Kiev authorities back from using force and the army against protesters in Slavyansk and other Ukrainian cities.