Lavrov Says Russia Hopes Volker to Act as Mediator Rather Than Kiev's Defender
Russia hopes that US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker will play the role of a diplomat who seeks to mediate the conflict in the country's east and give up being a defender of Kiev's actions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.
"I would like it very much if US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker plays the role of a representative who seeks to reach an agreement between the conflicting parties ... Kiev on the one hand, and Donetsk and Luhansk on the other. Meanwhile, Mr. Volker acts as a firm, uncritical defender of all provocative actions by the Kiev regime," Lavrov said at a briefing in Geneva.
Earlier in the day, Volker said that the United States would like its European allies to consider more closely the possibility of expanding sanctions against Russia due to the incident in the Kerch Strait.
On Sunday, Ukraine's Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tugboat illegally crossed the Russian maritime border. According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the vessels sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov, and were seized by Russia after failing to respond to a demand to stop. Over 20 Ukrainian sailors were also detained.
Earlier in the day, as a response to the incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree officially declaring martial law in select regions of Ukraine that lie on the Russian border as well as the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov for 30 days.