MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over the phone that the ceasefire earlier declared in southeastern Ukraine should be prolonged, while Kyiv and militiamen ought to launch peace talks.
The telephone conversation was held at Washington's initiative on Thursday evening, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
"When addressing the situation in Ukraine, Lavrov reiterated the need to extend the ceasefire and launch direct negotiations of the sides in the conflict as soon as possible based on the results of the first consultations between representatives of Kyiv and the southeast in Donetsk on June 23," the ministry said.
Kerry, for his part, told Lavrov about the results of his recent visit to Iraq, where tensions have escalated as a result of the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorist group.
The sides also expressed serious concern over an upsurge in radical Islamists' operations, which pose a threat to the entire region.
They agreed to continue consultations on ways to restore stability to that region.