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20:28 GMT
MOSCOW, May 18 (KUNA) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gregory Karasin and visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland held "in-depth talks" on the crisis in eastern Ukraine on Monday.
The two sides stressed the importance of bringing to the negotiating table the Ukrainian government and the representatives of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, according to a press release by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
They urged the parties to the eastern Ukraine conflict to abide by the provisions of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, signed by the representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Lugansk People's Republic on February 12, 2015, under auspices of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
They agreed that the agreement constitutes a suitable ground for reaching final settlement of the conflict, the statement noted.
Nuland also discussed with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov the bilateral US-Russian ties.
She arrive in Moscow yesterday on a two-day visit to Russia to discuss next steps in Minsk implementation, following her visit to Kiev on May 14-16, Ukraine, and Secretary of State John Kerry's meetings in Sochi, Russia, on May 12. (end)
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