Russian, Ukrainian Ministers Join Council Of Europe Talks

Acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsya, are in Vienna for a Council of Europe committee meeting that is expected to be dominated by the Ukraine crisis.

Austria’s Foreign Ministry says the two are both scheduled to attend “a working dinner” on May 6 together with other Council of Europe foreign ministers.

Moscow refuses to recognize Deshchytsya’s Western-backed government in Kyiv.

The last time Lavrov and Deshchytsya officially met was in Geneva on April 17 when a deal aimed at deescalating Ukraine’s crisis was struck.

That deal has since unraveled.

About 30 foreign ministers from the 47-state Council of Europe are expected to attend the Vienna gathering.

Britain’s William Hague is joining the talks. But the foreign ministers of Germany and France are not scheduled to attend.
Based on reporting by AP and Reuters