You're reading: Lavrov phones Kerry, blames opposition for Ukraine violence

Russian Foreign Minister telephoned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday and complained about ongoing violence in Ukraine, blaming the opposition for it.

“Lavrov drew [Kerry’s] attention to the fact that, after the signature on February 21 of the agreement between the Ukrainian government and opposition, the situation in that country deteriorated sharply because of the inability or unwillingness of the opposition forces to respect the terms of the agreement, which had been concluded with the active participation of Germany, Poland and France,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its website, www.mid.ru.

“The illegal extremist groups refuse to surrender their weapons and are de facto taking control of Kyiv with the connivance of the opposition leaders in the Verkhovna Rada [parliament],” it said.

“The Russian minister reminded the secretary of state that this issue was discussed in detail in yesterday’s telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, in which the Russian President called upon the American leader to make use of all resources to prevent illegal activities by radicals and bring the situation back into the constitutional framework,” the statement said.

“Kerry reaffirmed the United States’ loyalty to the agreement of February 21 and promised to make urgent use of Washington’s means of pressure on the opposition,” it said.