Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


                    Russian FM Calls for Dialogue in Ukraine

   by VOA News

   Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for talks between
   Kyiv and pro-Russian separatists in southeastern Ukraine.
   "Russia believes that this dialogue between the authorities in Kyiv and
   their opponents could be established, or launched in the framework of
   the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We hope that
   our partners, our Western colleagues allow Ukrainians to establish this
   dialogue without major impediment," said Lavrov.
   The prime minister spoke during a visit to Peru.
   In eastern Ukraine, local authorities said Wednesday pro-Russian gunmen
   seized control of a city council building in Horlivka, a city of
   290,000 residents north of the industrial hub of Donetsk. Separatists
   now control about a dozen cities in Ukraine's industrial east,
   including Donetsk, where rebels have set a referendum on secession for
   May 11.
   A similar vote last month led to Russia's annexation of the Crimean
   peninsula.
   Ukraine's interim president Oleksandr Turchynov has said his government
   is "helpless" to quell the growing pro-Russian separatist movement in
   two eastern regions and cannot control its own troops.
   Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund slashed Russia's growth
   forecast for 2014 from 1.3 percent to 0.2 percent. The IMF says its
   decision took into account "the significant level of uncertainty"
   related to geopolitical tensions and sanctions against Russia for its
   role in the Ukraine crisis.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/russian-fm-calls-for-dialogue-in-ukra
   ine/1905082.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russian-fm-calls-for-dialogue-in-ukraine/1905082.html