Roundup: Putin, Kerry discuss closer Russia-U.S. cooperation on Ukraine crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday discussed closer Russia-U.S. cooperation on the Ukraine crisis, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

Putin and Kerry also discussed different aspects and possible options for more intensive joint bilateral work in order to solve the crisis, according to Ushakov. He said Russia called for the soonest start of direct dialogues between Kiev government and insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

Putin stressed that Moscow is committed to fully implementing the Minsk agreements signed in February, while Kerry agreed that the Minsk accords pave the way of a peaceful settlement of the crisis.

Kerry arrived here Tuesday morning and first talked with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before Putin joined them.

At a press conference held after the high-level talks, Lavrov said both sides agreed to influence conflicting parties to the Ukraine crisis to ensure a practical and peaceful resolution.

Lamenting that the conflict in eastern Ukraine "continued for too long", Kerry urged all relevant parties to follow the provisions in the Minsk accords and make ceasefire, weaponry withdrawal and political dialogue a "genuine" reality.

Both the diplomats warned against any attempts to resume military operations in eastern Ukraine and agreed to do their best to speed up the peaceful process in Ukraine.

Kerry voiced concern that the Minsk agreements would be seriously undermined if Kiev takes such military actions as to regain control of the Donetsk airport.

Local media reported that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Monday "no doubt" for Kiev to regain control of the airport currently controlled by pro-independent insurgents.

"We were certainly unanimous on the need to resolve this problem exclusively in a peaceful way, through the full and comprehensive implementation of the Minsk agreements, definitely including a direct dialogue between Kiev, Lugansk, and Donetsk on all aspects specified in the Minsk accords," Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying.

The Russian foreign minister also disclosed that a meeting would be held this week of the working subgroup on security, which is established under the framework of the three-party Contact Group grouping Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The meeting is planned to draft documents on ceasefire and demilitarization in current main fighting flashpoints like Shyrokyne village, as well as to discuss Russia's proposal on the pullback of tanks and under-100-millimeter-caliber artillery from the boundary line.

For an effective implementation of the Minsk agreements, the " Normandy Four" of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia agreed at the end of April to introduce four working subgroups of the contact group on security, political issues, economic and reconstruction issues and refugees, respectively.

Meanwhile, Kerry promised to talk to Poroshenko on contents of Tuesday's meeting and to cooperate with all sides to ensure implementation of the Minsk agreements. He also raised the possibility of the U.S. and the EU lifting sanctions against Russia if the Minsk agreements are fully implemented by all relevant parties.

The crisis in Ukraine has caused a dive of the relationship between Washington and Moscow, with the United States and its Western allies slapping rounds of sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea and its alleged military involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

As this is Kerry's first trip to Russia in two years, possible bilateral relationship restoration became one of the key topics of the meetings.

Ushakov, who positively assessed the talks as "very useful, necessary and positive," said it is possible for Putin to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on bilateral or multilateral occasions this year.

Russian foreign minister Lavrov added that both countries agreed it is necessary to avoid any actions which could "inflict long-term damage upon our relations."

"Our assessments were not identical in everything, but today's meetings made it possible for us to better understand each other," Lavrov said.

During the meeting that lasted for nearly four hours, Putin reaffirmed Russia's readiness "to a most wide cooperation, to the closest interaction (with the U.S.) on the basis of equality, mutual respect of interests and stances," according to Lavrov.

Apart from Ukraine crisis and bilateral relations, other issues like Iranian nuclear problem, Syrian crisis and international anti- terrorism were also discussed at the meeting. Endite