Russia urged Ukraine's leaders on Wednesday to talk directly to separatists to end the conflict in the east, but Kiev rejected the call and told Moscow to stop "playing games" aimed at legitimizing "terrorists".
| Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk (R) listens as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during a news conference in Kiev, November 18, 2014. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko |
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of destabilizing Ukraine by providing the rebels with money, arms and reinforcements. The West has imposed sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in which more than 4,000 people have been killed since mid-April.
Russia backs the separatists but denies it is directly involved in the conflict in the Donbass region.
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| Alexander Zakharchenko, third from left , leader of self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk |
"We are calling for the establishment of stable contacts between Kiev and Donbass representatives with the aim of reaching mutually acceptable agreements," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a policy address to the lower house of parliament in Moscow.
But Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk hit back, accusing Moscow of trying to push Ukraine into recognizing the pro-Russian rebels who are fighting government troops to split parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions from Kiev.
Speaking at a government meeting, he declared Kiev would not speak directly to the separatists and repeated the phrase slowly in Russian for emphasis, saying: "We will not hold direct talks with your mercenaries."Read the rest of the story HERE.
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