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

"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."