18 February 201721:18
322-18-02-2017
Our meetings in Germany are almost
over. We spent a day and a half in Bonn and two days in Munich, at a meeting of
the G20 foreign ministers in Bonn and the annual international security
conference in Munich, which is nearing completion. You attended my speech
there, and today I am ready to answer your questions if you have any.
In addition to multilateral meetings
in the framework of the G20 and the Munich Security Conference, I have had
about 25 bilateral meetings and also attended a Normandy format meeting of
foreign ministers. I can tell you that the Normandy format meeting focused on
the implementation of the agreements the presidents of Russia, France and
Ukraine and the federal chancellor of Germany reached in Bonn last October.
These agreements included provisions on security zones and their gradual and
consistent expansion along the contact line, the unconditional withdrawal of
heavy weapons, which should have been accomplished long ago, and the
establishment of round-the-clock OSCE monitoring along the contact line in the
security zones and heavy weapons holding areas. They also urged the fulfilment
of all humanitarian provisions as soon as possible (primarily exchange hostages
and detainees based on the “all for all” principle) and the drafting of a
roadmap that would set out clearly the steps towards the implementation of the
political provisions of the Minsk Agreements.
We noted today that progress in
implementing the Berlin agreements has been inadequate, unfortunately. As
everyone agreed, the only positive element is that the Contact Group has again
agreed to launch a ceasefire and heavy weapons withdrawal to the holding areas
on February 20. We supported this decision actively, but we also expressed the
opinion that it must be implemented without fail this time. We’ll see how the
parties to the conflict react to this.
We also expressed our appreciation
for the minor progress reached at the Contact Group’s humanitarian subgroup
regarding the coordination of the lists of prisoners and detained persons for
their subsequent exchange based on the “all for all” principle. As I said, this
work is underway. We hope that those who are doing in on the ground – Ukrainian
representatives and delegates from Donetsk and Lugansk – will eventually reach
an agreement.
We also noted the special importance
of the roadmap that should set out the sequence of steps to strengthen security
and simultaneously to promote political reform, including a law on the special
status for Donbass, which should be formalised in a new constitution, an
amnesty for all those who participated in the hostilities in Donbass, just as
it has been done with regard to participants in the Maidan protests against the
previous government, as well as local elections based on the special status law
and the law on elections, which should be coordinated, just as everything else,
between Kiev and Donbass.
An additional statement by the
German and French ministers was made at our initiative. We wanted to draw
attention to the unacceptable blockade of Donbass by radical Ukrainian groups.
I am referring to the blockade of railway and road transit and threats to cut
off all communication with this part of Ukraine. We proposed condemning this
approach and demanding the immediate lifting of the blockade. Our Normandy
format partners supported this proposal and a statement to this effect has been
added to the comment issued by the German and French ministers following our
meeting.
Question: What signals did you get from US Vice
President Mike Pence, who spoke here? Did you meet?
Sergey Lavrov: We exchanged greetings before the
meeting. We have not met personally. As you know, I had a long meeting with the
new US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, in Bonn. I believe signals will be
analysed by politicians. What I heard is that the United States wants to
cooperate with its partners in tackling international issues of concern to
Washington. As I have said, we are waiting for the new US foreign policy team
to be finalised. After that we will be able to see, while acting in the
framework of professional contacts, the final shape of the initiatives and
views expressed by US President Donald Trump and also by Vice President Pence
today.
Question: Did you and Rex Tillerson talk about Iran?
Have you coordinated the date for a meeting between the Russian and US
presidents?
Sergey Lavrov: We have said everything we could
about the potential meeting between the Russian and US presidents. I have
nothing more to add now. We have an agreement on such a meeting, which needs
time to be prepared. Besides, it should be held at a time and place that will
be convenient for both presidents.
Regarding Iran, we talked about it
on a par with all the other key issues on the international agenda. We believe
that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran’s nuclear programme
remains in force. Our American partners take part in monitoring the
implementation of this plan jointly with the other parties to this agreement,
including at the IAEA. Today I have met with IAEA Director General Yukiya
Amano. He has reaffirmed that monitoring efforts show that Iran is honouring
its commitments. We hope that it will continue in this vein. All the other
parties to this agreement must also fulfil their obligations. I am referring to
the lifting of bans on economic cooperation and other ties with Iran that were
imposed by the UN Security Council and also unilateral restrictions imposed by
some members of the talks.
Question: Today President of Russia Vladimir Putin
signed an executive order recognising documents issued in Ukraine’s Donetsk and
Lugansk regions. Did you discuss this with your colleagues at the Normandy
format meeting? How did they react to this decision? Does it mean that Russia
has changed its attitude to the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics?
Sergey Lavrov: No, we did not discuss this issue.
I do not think that anyone views this as a change in our position. I believe
that this executive order is quite explicit. It says clearly that we are being
guided exclusively by the international humanitarian law, because people in
these Donbass regions have suffered from various blockades and restrictions.
They cannot receive their pensions and social payments and do not have adequate
access to healthcare services, considering that many medical facilities in
Donbass have been destroyed or severely damaged. They cannot travel for
personal reasons, while there are many families, relatives and friends living
on both sides of the border in Ukraine’s Donbass and in the Russian Federation.
The presidential executive order says that the identification documents of
persons permanently residing in Donbass (the Donetsk and Lugansk areas) will be
recognised in the Russian Federation as valid for purely humanitarian reasons
so that these people are able to legitimately enter Russia and use railway and
aviation transport during the settlement period of the crisis in Ukraine in
keeping with the Minsk Agreements.
Question: What is your opinion of Russian-Georgian
relations? Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin has recently issued a
statement on visas. Why do you connect this issue with diplomatic relations?
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who is attending this
event, has said that Russia is not yet cooperating with the investigation. Have
you met with her here?
Sergey Lavrov: No, I have not. I cannot comment
on this issue. We have taken a stand regarding the formulation of this
particular issue by the ICC Prosecutor. She completely disregarded the
extensive materials provided by South Ossetia, Abkhazia and the Russian
Federation, which show convincingly that the conflict was initiated by Mikheil
Saakashvili. The bias of the Prosecutor’s position became obvious when the
individual complaints filed by those who have suffered from this conflict in
South Ossetia were set aside. We said long ago that cooperation is impossible
for us in this situation.
As for the overall state of
relations between Russia and Georgia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory
Karasin and the Georgian Prime Minister’s special representative for relations
with Russia, Zurab Abashidze, recently held a regular meeting and issued a
detailed comment. We are glad that our bilateral relations seem to be
improving. Our trade is growing. I believe, though I am not sure, that Russia
is the third largest buyer of Georgian exports. We are improving and expanding
the area of air communication. We have greatly liberalised our visa policies.
Georgians can now visit Russia at every reasonable opportunity.
As for visa free travel, I want to
stress that it is a serious issue. It is complicated by more than just the
absence of diplomatic relations, although it would be a little strange to
cancel visas in this situation. The issue also concerns the need to ensure
national security at a time when not just Central Asia but also the South
Caucasus has become open routes for militants, extremists, terrorists and drug
traffickers. When we develop comprehensive cooperation between the Russian and
Georgian law enforcement agencies, and when we cut these risks to a minimum on
both sides, then we will be able to discuss further visa facilitation. But
cooperation between law enforcement agencies is difficult to develop in the
absence of diplomatic relations.
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