Brussels, April 9 (RHC) – Senior officials from Russia, the European Union, the United States and Ukraine are set to hold talks to discuss the situation in the former Soviet country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to join his US counterpart, John Kerry, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, and Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andriy Deshchytsia, for talks over the Ukrainian crisis.
An EU official stated that the exact time and venue of the negotiations are not yet known, but the talks will probably be held in Europe.
Russia and the West have been at loggerheads over the crisis in Ukraine. Moscow’s recent reintegration of the Crimean territory sent tensions to record levels.
Now, Pro-Russian citizens in both eastern and southern Ukrainian cities such as Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lugansk, Odessa and Nikolayev are pushing for separation from Kiev.
Pro-Russia demonstrations gained momentum in the Eastern European country after Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which nearly 97 percent of the participants voted for rejoining Russia, with a turnout of over 83 percent.
The move sparked angry reactions from the United States and the European Union, both imposing sanctions against a number of Russian officials and authorities in Crimea.
