Lavrov: Russia to insist on respect to Geneva accord

Russia will insist on respect to the Geneva accord on Ukraine and will strongly denounce attempts to distort it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a forum of young diplomats in the Russian capital on Friday.
“To make claims to us that we have allegedly signed in Geneva something that delegitimises actions of current authorities is a lie,” the minister noted.

Lavrov also intends to hold another telephone conversation on Ukraine with the US state secretary John Kerry on Friday.
What Kiev authorities are doing today is a punitive operation and a crime against their own people, Sergei Lavrov added.
The West wants to take control of Ukraine being guided only by their geo-political ambitions - Russian foreign minister Lavrov
Russia will do everything to defuse the tense situation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a forum of young diplomats on Friday.

Those who are currently in power in Kiev are to blame for the escalation, he noted.
"We will insist on the fulfillment of the Geneva agreements and prevent attempts to distort them," Lavrov noted, adding that there "should not be any unilateral demands, but attempts were made to present them to us.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia were not planning to follow Crimea's example, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a forum of young CIS diplomats on Friday.

When asked about it, the minister said he had not heard there was such intention.
"Abkhazia and South Ossetia are our partners, and we will respect the way they have chosen," he said.
Lavrov added he would meet with the Abkhazian and South Ossetian foreign ministers later on Friday.