Ukraine ceasefire being consolidated: Russian FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said here on Monday he welcomed "tangible progress" in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk last month, saying "the ceasefire is being consolidated, heavy weapons are withdrawn."

In a speech delivered to the opening of the 28th Human Rights Council session, the Russian FM said the problem in Ukraine is "of effective concern", since "there's been an increase within the activities of ultra-radical groups."

He called on Ukraine to distance itself from what he called "extremists" in the east and pursue a course toward peace.

"We ask the Ukrainian leadership to ... pursue a training course towards peace and reconciliation within the multi-ethnic Ukrainian society on the mutually acceptable basis," he stated.

During his speech, Lavrov also called the murder of former leader Boris Nemtsov a "heinous crime", saying that President Vladimir Putin was leading an investigation to make it "be fully investigated within the entire framework from the law to guarantee the perpetrators are introduced to justice".

Before attending the United Nations (UN) human right session, Lavrov met his U.S. counterpart John Kerry here over issues related to Ukraine, Syria and Iran.

While the two diplomats were meeting, the UN Human Rights Office released its latest report on the death toll in Ukraine, saying that more than 6,000 people have died in eastern Ukraine since the start of the conflict almost a year ago. Endit