Russia ready to accept deployment of armed monitor mission in East Ukraine: FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday said that the country is ready to agree on the deployment of additional armed mission to monitor the situation in East Ukraine.

"We are ready, if it will help, to accept the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)'s decision that additional group of observers, who will monitor the demarcation line and heavy weapons' storage site, will have the right to carry personal weapons," Lavrov said.

The minister stressed in a televised interview with Rossiya TV channel that the weapons should be equipped for self-defense purposes and, most importantly, for the protection and monitoring of the stability in East Ukraine.

"We are ready for such a compromise. Now the ball is in the court of our partners," Lavrov said.

The minister added that Russia suggested the OSCE to further supplement the monitor mission in order to ensure security during Donbass's elections and coordinate with the pro-independence insurgents.

Meanwhile, Lavrov noted that Kiev should not ask the Donbass regions to observe the Minsk accord in advance.

The Ukrainian government should firstly grant amnesty and special status to the insurgent Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as carry out constitutional reform, Lavrov stressed.

"Based on information from various sources, the United States is applying more pressure to have the Ukrainian side observe its commitments under the Minsk agreement," Lavrov said.

Political settlement of the Ukraine crisis now depends entirely on how Kiev would negotiate with Donetsk and Lugansk directly, which was clearly written in the Minsk agreements, said the minister. Endi