(VOVworld) – The situation in the southeastern region of Ukraine remains unstable despite acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya announced on Monday that the Kiev caretaker government is implementing commitments set in the Geneva agreement to ease tension.

A pro-Russian demonstration in the eastern city of Donetsk (Kyryl Savin)

Demonstrators in Lugansk gathered questions for a referendum to be held in the province in the two stages. The first period on May 11^th will concern maintaining the region’s state or turning to autonomy. The second period will be held on May 18^th in which local people should decide whether to become an independent nation or a part of Russia. In Kharkow, federalization supporters convened a meeting to set up an organizing board for a referendum. According to a member of the coordination committee of demonstrators in southeast Ukraine, 4 regions including Kharkov agreed to conduct a referendum on federalization, their autonomy, and using the Russian language as the second national language.

In separate phone talks with his US and German counterparts, Russian Foreign Minsiter Sergey Lavrov said to end the escalating tension in Ukraine, the interim Kiev government should strictly implement the Geneva agreement reached by Russia, the US, the EU, and Ukraine last week. Lavrov said Kieve doesn’t want to halt violent acts of the ‘Right wing’ group adding that this will threaten the realization of the Geneva agreement.