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Lavrov doubts Ukraine’s efforts

May 8, 2014

Russia has expressed concern about Ukraine's steps to defuse the conflict in the country’s east. Separatist leaders say they will move ahead with plans to hold a controversial referendum slated for Sunday.

https://p.dw.com/p/1BvsN
Referendum Ukraine Donezk
Image: Reuters

After speaking with his German counterpart Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed doubt that Ukraine's government had taken necessary steps to work with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in resolving the conflict in Ukraine's east.

Ukraine‘s authorities "have called into question the prospects of the OSCE's efforts to launch an inclusive nationwide dialogue," the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Thursday after a phone conversation between Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Following Russia's annexation of Crimea in March, opponents of Ukraine's interim government have called for a similar referendum that would give the country's east more autonomy. Ukraine and several other countries have called the annexation illegal and accused Russia of interfering in domestic politics and coordinating some of the separatist violence.

'By 100 percent'

On Thursday, separatists announced they would go ahead with a secession referendum for parts of eastern Ukraine, even after Russian President Vladimir Putin had urged them to delay it.

"We have just voted in the People's Council," separatist leader Denis Pushilin said. "The date of the referendum was endorsed by 100 percent. The referendum will take place on May 11."

A poll of 1,659 Ukrainians conducted April 5-23 and released on Thursday shows that most want Ukraine to remain a unified state. The Pew Research Center found that 77 percent of Ukrainians want to keep the country whole, including 70 percent in the east. Even 58 percent of Russian speakers wish to remain unified.

The interim government did not fare as well, with about 41 percent of people expressing confidence. This includes 60 percent in the country's west, but only 24 percent in the east, according to the poll.

In Odessa, where clashes last week left at least 40 dead, authorities have increased security, fearing riots on Friday, when ex-Soviet nations celebrate their victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

mkg/jr (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)