U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has held separate telephone conversations with Russia's foreign minister and Ukraine's prime minister regarding the situation in eastern Ukraine and the implementation of the agreement reached in Geneva last week.
Kerry on April 22 told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Washington is concerned about Russia's failure to de-escalate the conflict and urged Moscow to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric.
He urged Russia to pressure pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine to disarm in exchange for amnesty.
Speaking with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Kerry praised the Ukrainian government for the steps it has taken to implement the Geneva agreement, including progress on amnesty legislation and cooperation with the monitoring mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Kerry on April 22 told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Washington is concerned about Russia's failure to de-escalate the conflict and urged Moscow to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric.
He urged Russia to pressure pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine to disarm in exchange for amnesty.
Speaking with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Kerry praised the Ukrainian government for the steps it has taken to implement the Geneva agreement, including progress on amnesty legislation and cooperation with the monitoring mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).