Radicals,used to disrupt Ukraine referendums

Radicals, army, heavy weapons were used in Ukraine to disrupt referendums, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

     "The turnout was high despite attempts to disrupt the vote, including attempts to do so using ultra-radical militants, the army and heavy weapons against civilians. There were casualties," Sergei Lavrov said, commenting on Sunday’s referendums in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions after talks with his Ugandan counterpart Sam Kutesa. 

The roadmap for Ukraine, which was prepared by the OSCE chairman, has not been unveiled due to positions held by Washington and Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

     "We are convinced that this must be done as soon as possible. It’s a pity… that some people in Washington and Kiev are against including [Ukrainian] regions in a dialogue. That’s why, despite our readiness, the roadmap prepared by the OSCE chairman, has not been unveiled," he said.

This is further proof of Kiev’s failure to "realize the need to engage in dialogue with its own people," Lavrov said.

Lavrov said he had heard Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia and White House spokesman Jay Carney saying that it was necessary to continue negotiations on Ukraine in the quadripartite format including the United States, the European Union, Russia and Kiev.

The OSCE proposals on Ukraine envisage the launch of a national dialogue along with investigations into crimes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

     "I am not sure it can be done in the near future, but we believe it is extremely necessary to call for a national dialogue on the basis of the proposals elaborated by the OSCE chairman," Lavrov said after meeting with his Ugandan counterpart Sam Kutesa in Moscow on Monday.
     "This needs to be done simultaneously with investigations into the crimes that have been committed. It is also envisioned by the 'roadmap,' which is promoted by the Swiss chairmanship," the minister said.
     "No new meetings on Ukraine have been planned as of yet but we would like the efforts to continue, without slowing down, and shortly materialize into a certain process, because another meeting in the quadripartite format is not quite promising," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow on Monday, according to Interfax.

Efforts to settle the Ukrainian crisis will go nowhere without the participation of opponents of the Kiev authorities in the dialogue, Lavrov added, TASS reports.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described as "an utter lie" the statement on the Donetsk People's Republic, which Facebook postings said he allegedly made.

     "What you have quoted as part of my statement is a direct, utter and brazen lie," the Russian foreign minister said at a press conference in Moscow on Monday.
      "I know that lies and half-truths - which are even worse than lies - are being actively used during the Ukrainian crisis by both the Ukrainian figures who have seized power in Kiev, and by their Western patrons. But they have never gone down to such a crude lie is this one before," Lavrov said.
      "It looks like the mere silencing of facts is no longer sufficient for them - the truth finally makes its way into the open after all," he said.
      "Much credit for this must be given to Russian journalists' intensive activity in very uneasy conditions, sometimes at a risk to their lives," Lavrov said.

Journalists read out at a press conference a statement, attributed to Lavrov, which describes the Donetsk People's Republic as "a terrorist organization that does not represent the interests of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine."

The fake statement also says that, "Russia will never recognize the Donetsk People's Republic's independence."

Voice of Russia