Call for 'immediate ceasefire'

Ahead of Monday's negotiations in the capital of Belarus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said an "immediate ceasefire" between the government and separatists in Ukraine "without conditions" must the top priority at the talks.

Addressing university students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on Monday, Lavrov added that Ukrainian forces "must leave positions from which they can harm the civilian population."

Ukrainian and Russian officials are scheduled to hold talks in Minsk later on Monday, together with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. It is unclear whether representatives of the separatists will also attend.

In light of last week's unsuccessful direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, Lavrov remained skeptical of the peace plan put forward by Kyiv.

"We need to sit down and talk, and not insist upon unrealistic demands that the rebels give up their weapons and let themselves be killed," he said. "That is all what Petro Alexeyevich Poroshenko's peace plan is driving at."

'No military intervention'

During the meeting with unversity students on Monday, Lavrov added that there would be "no military intervention" from Russia in Ukraine.

"We are for an exclusively peaceful resolution of that most serious crisis, that tragedy," Lavrov said.

Speaking from the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk on Monday, Putin accused Europe of ignoring the Ukrainian army's "targeting" of "civilians."

Ukraine's military "is directly targeting its fire on residential areas" and "unfortunately many countries, including in Europe, prefer not to notice that," Putin said.

In an interview broadcast on the Russian TV network Channel 1 on Sunday, Putin had also said the talks should focus on "questions of the political organization of society and statehood for southeastern Ukraine" with a goal of "protecting the lawful interests of the people who live there."

During his TV appearance, Putin blamed other nation's for Ukraine's impasse, and said it was impossible to predict how long the fighting would last.

One-week ultimatum

His comments followed a summit of the EU's 28 heads of state on Saturday. The leaders had agreed to give Russia a one-week ultimatum, promising tougher sanctions if the country did not curb its support for separatists.

The separatists have made significant gains along the Azov Sea coast in recent days, a feat Ukrainian officials allege was made possible by direct Russian intervention.

Almost 2,600 people have died in the conflict since April, when separatists began battling government forces shortly after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March.

Asset freezes and travel bans have already been imposed on several senior Russian officials and separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine.

ksb/mkg (Reuters, AFP)