More about Lavrov's speech from our News Desk:
Lavrov said he hopes participants at a meeting in Minsk on September 1 would see to agree terms of an immediate, unconditional cease-fire. ITAR-TASS reported that separatists would attend in addition to representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE.
Lavrov said an immediate truce is needed but that Poroshenko's cease-fire plan amounted to a demand that separatists disarm and allow themselves to be destroyed. He said the separatists had no choice but to try to drive Ukrainian government forces out of positions from which they can hit civilians.
BREAKING: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on September 1 that the Russian military would not intervene in Ukraine.
Kyiv and the West say it has already done so.
Lavrov told foreign policy students there would be no Russian "military intervention" in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since April in a conflict that has killed more than 2,600 people.
NATO recently estimated there were at least 1,000 Russian soldiers were in Ukraine.
Lavrov said participants at a meeting in Minsk on September 1 should seek a cease-fire.
He said an immediate truce is needed but that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's cease-fire plan amounted to a demand that separatists disarm and allow themselves to be destroyed.
He said the United States and EU must urge Kyiv to withdraw government forces from postions from which they can hit civilians.
Barring any major developments, this concludes the live blogging for today. See you again tomorrow.