MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed hope on Friday that current contacts between the Ukrainian government and eastern Ukraine's militias that are being brokered by Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe would lead to a "respectful, equitable dialogue."
"I hope that the announcement about the 72-hour extension of the truce and the contacts between representatives of Kyiv and representatives of the southeast that are due to continue literally within hours and days with the mediation of Russia and the OSCE will lead to more sustainable agreements, to more sustainable mechanisms of settlement - but, above all, not settlement but dialogue, a respectful, equitable dialogue that would make it possible to take account of the interests of people who live in the southeast and want guarantees of their rights in Ukraine," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.