MOSCOW, December 25 (Sputnik) — Moscow is not trying to pressure Ukraine into adopting a certain form of state government, but insists that a fully-fledged constitutional reform is imperative for the crisis-hit country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"We are absolutely not imposing a concrete term for Ukraine [state government], being it federation, decentralization or any other English synonym…It is irrelevant for us," Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Kommersant newspaper published on Thursday.
"What Ukraine really needs is an open, transparent and all-inclusive constitutional reform as it was outlined in the Geneva communique adopted in April this year," the minister emphasized.
The Geneva agreements between Russia, the European Union and the United States outlined Kiev's need for nationwide dialogue on constitutional reform.
In an interview with RIA Novosti on December 9, Lavrov called for a "balanced constitutional system in Ukraine that would take into account the interests of various regions and all ethnic and language groups" given the country's history.
Ukraine is a unitary state despite grave cultural and historical differences among its regions — the predominantly Russian-speaking south-east and the rest of the country. Following a February coup in Kiev, pro-federalization rallies have been raging in Ukraine's east after its residents refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government that came to power.
