Russian FM Sergei Lavrov said today that the West is using the case of Nadia Savchenko for political purposes (lightly edited for style):
(TASS) -- Western partners of Kiev are using the case of former Ukrainian soldier Nadia Savchenko for overtly political purposes, blowing it out of proportion to the real situation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday in an interview with REN TV channel.
"The charges against Savchenko are very serious -- involvement in a deliberate murder of Russian journalists in the conflict zone," he said. "As the Foreign Minister has stated repeatedly, their fate is of little interest to Kyiv's Western benefactors, but the Savchenko case is being promoted, her personal, probably unenviable situation, is being used for overtly political purposes. Apparently, she likes it and actively participates in this. This is their choice," Lavrov added.
According to Lavrov, "it is being blown out of proportion to the real situation, no matter how difficult it may be, and no matter how serious the charges are. There are already calls to impose sanctions against Russia, to introduce a 'Savchenko list,'" he added.
The Russian FM said today he expects Washington to make compromises on the Minsk agreements:
(Reuters) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped the United States was willing to compromise so that the Minsk agreements on the Ukraine crisis could be fullfilled, Russian news agencies reported.
"I hope the Americans understand the need to look here for some compromise paths, which will allow for the Minsk agreements to be fulfilled fully," Lavrov told Ren-TV in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow morning, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here,
Here's some footage of the apparent burning of a Ukrainian flag in Moscow. This Facebook post claims that the only bystanders to take issue with the situation were Georgian:
This will undoubtedly raise a few hackles:
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone, courtesy of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE):
