KYIV. April 18 (Interfax) - Kyiv is not placing any "unreasonable" hopes on the statement that was signed by Russian, U.S., EU and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Geneva on April 17, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday morning.
"We do not have any unreasonable expectations with regard to this statement," he said.
The demand that the protesters surrender their weapons and vacate all illegally occupied buildings carries Russia's signature, Yatsenyuk said.
"Russia had no other choice but to sign the statement and condemn extremism… Having signed this statement, Russia effectively asked these "peaceful protesters" with Kalashnikov assault rifles and air defense missile systems to immediately disarm and surrender their weapons," he said.
All the participants in the Geneva talks, except for Russia, reaffirmed that Crimea is a part of Ukraine, Yatsenyuk said.
"Three of the four participants in the Geneva meeting made it absolutely clear that no one would recognize the "annexation" of Crimea under any circumstances. And our demand remains unchanged: Crimea is part of Ukraine's territory," Yatsenyuk said.
"Ukraine, acting along with the international community, will "fight back" for Crimea both in a political and a diplomatic sense," he said.
At their meeting in Geneva on April 17, Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine agreed on initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens of Ukraine.