Lavrov to attend CoE meeting on Ukraine crisis

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to attend a ministerial meeting at the Council of Europe in Vienna this week amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday, May 5, according to RIA Novosti.

In addition to the ministerial meeting on Monday and Tuesday, Lavrov will also attend bilateral talks with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland, his Slovakian and Austrian counterparts Miroslav Lajcak and Sebastian Kurz, as well as with council’s Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muiznieks.

The ministry said in a statement that Russia is one of the Council’s most active members, taking part in a wide range of activities.

“In the face of the Ukrainian crisis, the Council of Europe’s expert and legal potential should be used in full force to mediate a far-going constitutional reform in the country,” the ministry said.

During a recent visit to Kyiv, Jagland said the council was committed to help Kiev with preserving the country’s unitarity and preparing constitutional reform.

On April 17, top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU approved a statement calling on the sides in Ukraine to refrain from violence, extremism and provocations, disarm militants and launch a national dialogue on constitutional reform.