Opening remarks and answers to media questions by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a joint news conference with his Belarusian counterpart following a meeting of the foreign ministry boards of Russia and Belarus, Minsk, 18 November 2014

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are very pleased with the results of the 11th meeting of the foreign ministry boards of Russia and Belarus. This mechanism has proved to be a very important tool in coordinating our foreign policy actions in accordance with the programme approved every two years by the Supreme State Council.

Our agenda today includes important issues. First of all, we have agreed a plan of action for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, and our actions in the international arena, including the promotion of the UN General Assembly's resolution on the inadmissibility of glorifying Nazism. We have also discussed our work with compatriots – Russians and Belarusians – living abroad. In addition to specific tasks aimed at defending their rights and legitimate interests in their countries of residence, we also discussed preparations for the 70th anniversary of victory.

Importantly, many initiatives in this area are coming from younger members of organisations of our compatriots living abroad. Some of these initiatives have already become traditional. The popular St George Ribbon campaign has been expanded to include the Memory Watch project. This year, many of our compatriots have responded enthusiastically to our proposal to organise the campaign, The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 Through the Eyes of Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren in the 21st Century. These projects are related to important upcoming events that are being planned and organised.

We have also discussed relations between Russia and Belarus and the European Union noting that we are not seeking a confrontation, but clearly stating that in our work we will be guided by making it clear to our European partners that sanctions are a path to nowhere and are absolutely counterproductive when it comes to achieving the stated goals of unlawful, unilateral restrictive measures.

In connection with the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting to be held in Basel in early December, we have coordinated our approaches to this organisation's activities. We are convinced that it can be used more effectively in the interests of advancing the ideals of Helsinki, all the more so as 2015 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. Its goals and principles of a European security and cooperation space without dividing lines should be revived and, most importantly, carried out in practice.

We have reviewed Europe's security status, including in the context of active US global missile defence plans and their European component, as well as in the context of conventional arms in Europe. We are not going to stand by and watch negative trends continue to undermine strategic stability in the Euro-Atlantic area, but will instead work with our Western partners, consistently and without confrontation, to find acceptable solutions based on the interests of all countries of our region without exception.

In addition to the joint meeting of the boards, Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei and I have held bilateral talks and discussed our preparations for the upcoming top-level Russian-Belarusian meetings, including a meeting of the Union State Supreme Council.

We have also discussed several important international problems. Of course, we touched upon the situation in Ukraine, which is a cause for major concern. Russia and Belarus have been consistently speaking in favour of implementing all the agreements reached in Minsk. We believe Minsk is a convenient venue for maintaining direct dialogue between the Kiev authorities and representatives of southeastern Ukraine. There's no other way of resolving this crisis.

Question: Given all the speculation about the alleged presence of Russian military equipment in southeastern Ukraine and the recent moves of the Ukrainian leadership, what do you think about the likelihood of convening the Contact Group and implementing the Minsk agreements in general?

Sergey Lavrov: If what we hear from the Kiev authorities, the leaders of southeastern Ukraine and our Western partners, including the EU and the United States, is true, they all support the Minsk process. Representatives of southeastern Ukraine confirmed this again today. We very much hope that the Kiev authorities will demonstrate a commitment to this position. Unfortunately, Kiev has been sending mixed messages lately, including the infamous executive order by President Poroshenko, which, in fact, may lead to the socioeconomic strangulation of the Ukrainian regions that are not controlled by Kiev. We are alarmed by the fact that the Ukrainian authorities will not put the constitutional reform process at the top of their list of priorities. The draft coalition agreement distributed by the Poroshenko Bloc barely mentions constitutional reform. Its only goal is to create a temporary Verkhovna Rada commission with the participation of representatives of the president and the government, and constitutional law experts. Not a word is said about engaging every region and political force in the reform process, as Kiev pledged to do when it signed the Geneva Statement of 17 April. This is not conducive to restoring confidence among citizens of all regions of Ukraine and bringing the country closer to national reconciliation. Again, an attempt is being made to reach a private agreement on the country's fundamental law. Before this agreement becomes official and binding, we would like the Ukrainian authorities to deliver at least on their promises to begin a genuine nationwide dialogue involving all regions and political forces in Ukraine. The Minsk process, which involves representatives of Kiev and southeastern Ukraine, is a very important practical step in this direction; therefore, resuming it as soon as possible is our top priority.

Question: EU sanctions were imposed both on Russia and Belarus. How will the two countries build relations with the European Union in this situation?

Sergey Lavrov (after Makei's remarks): I share the views expressed by Mr Makei. We are against sanctions and confrontation. We're not going to beg Western countries to lift them, although from time to time they suggest that if we agree to certain things and do as we are told, they will lift the sanctions in return. We will not play such games. Fortunately, we have started hearing realistic statements coming from the EU and even calls to learn from mistakes. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini recently appeared in the European Parliament and called for greater attention to assessing the situation and predicting the consequences of steps taken by the EU, in particular, with regard to imposing an Association Agreement on Ukraine one year ago. Ms Mogherini said that it makes more sense to provide a balanced assessment of the steps that the European Union is about to take than to engage in imposing sanctions afterwards. This is a sensible idea, and I fully support it. We also noted that the European Commission is already speaking publicly and officially in favour of establishing a dialogue between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Commission. Better late than never, but harmonising integration processes to create a single economic and humanitarian space based on indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic zone is exactly what the OSCE is supposed to do. I hope we will work together with this organisation in order to achieve its core goals.

Question: What's your take on the statement by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier that his visit to Moscow should not be expected to produce a breakthrough? What does Moscow think about the prospects of convening an international conference on Ukraine?

Sergey Lavrov: My German colleague will be in Moscow on a working visit. We agreed to compare notes and talk primarily about Ukraine and Russian-German relations. It's important to be clear on what qualifies as a breakthrough. Nobody's expecting one. This visit will not allow us to resolve all the problems in the world, or, say, the problems associated with the Ukraine crisis. Importantly, we value our regular dialogue with Germany and other European countries at the level of the President and the Chancellor, foreign ministers, energy ministers and other agencies. Germany is the leading member of the EU, and we are interested in working together to find solutions that strike a balance between the interests of all stakeholders, while Germany also protects its interests in the European Union and in international relations in general.

I haven't heard anything about an international conference on Ukraine. There were ideas about convening a conference of donors. I understand that the IMF and the EU are involved in this, but they believe that the prerequisites are not there yet, because not much is known about the economic policy of the Ukrainian government and whether long-overdue reforms in the Ukrainian economy will be conducted. This is what we know about this conference. If you are talking about a new proposal to hold a conference on reaching a political settlement in Ukraine, I have not heard anything about it and I'm convinced that there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

There's the Minsk Protocol and the Contact Group which is the only format for dialogue between the parties – and a compact one at that – which involves the Kiev authorities and the leaders of southeastern Ukraine, as well as Russia and the OSCE. Therefore, we support it. Any attempts to alter this format and have the leaders from southeastern Ukraine sit on the sidelines while the "adults" agree among themselves and then tell the southeast what to do are an illusion and are unlikely to do anyone any good.