MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti) – Russia expects Kiev to promptly take practical steps in order to ensure an unbiased investigation into the deadly arson fire in Odessa and the Maidan sniper case, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
Lavrov recalled that Petro Poroshenko, expected to become Ukraine’s next president according to preliminary results, as well as other Ukrainian officials, had earlier said experts from Europe and Russia may be invited to take part in the investigation.
Lavrov said Russia was waiting for “these statements and promises” to “become practical actions.”
“This must be done immediately, before all evidence is destroyed, as was attempted in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa,” he told reporters in Moscow.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry confirmed earlier that 48 people were killed on May 2 in the House of Trade Unions in the Ukrainian southern port city of Odessa. Ukrainian investigators previously discovered traces of chloroform in garbage and ashes removed from the House of Trade Unions in Odessa and suggested the cause of death of 32 victims was an unknown substance, not extreme temperatures.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement Monday it is concerned over any cases where toxic agents are used against people but so far withholds any comments regarding a possible inquiry into the tragic events in Odessa.