You're reading: Slovak foreign minister: Normalization in Ukraine is impossible without Russia

 The foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia and Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia have discussed ways of improving Russia's relations with the European Union and NATO.

“I have come here as the foreign minister of a country that is a
member of the EU and NATO, so we spent enough time talking on how to
normalize and develop the relations between the EU and Russia and the
relations between NATO and Russia,” Lajcak told a press conference after
negotiations with Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.

“I can say only one thing: this conversation was very useful to me,” Lajcak said.

Lajcak said the negotiations had addressed Slovak-Russian relations and the situation in Ukraine.

“We are interested in the normalization of the situation in Ukraine.
We are convinced that the situation in Ukraine cannot be resolved and
stabilized without active assistance from Russia,” Lajcak said.

Lajcak said that “this situation can and should be resolved using political methods, through a political process.”