Islam Times - Putin's Principles of Ukrainian Settlement Stem from International Law: Lavrov

Islam Times - The principles of settling the Ukrainian crisis voiced by Russian President Vladimir Putin stem from international law, and not some preconditions, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"The principles formulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin (of resolving the Ukrainian crisis) are not preconditions," he saidon the 60 Minutes program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"They stem from international law," he stated, TASS reported.

Lavrov drew attention to the fact that Ukraine "plays into the hands the West, which needs to remove such a strong competitor as Russia from the international scene."

"The West wants to do away with any competitor," he emphasized. "Ukraine has been chosen as a weapon against us."