(VOVworld) - Russia hopes the US can dissuade Kiev from launching fresh offensives against federalists in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign​ Minister Grigory Karasin said Washington has been able to persuade Kiev to start a dialogue with the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk republics (photo:primanews.org)

 Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said Moscow is trying to convince Washington to do so and that the US is beginning to understand the necessity of implementing the agreements reached in Minsk in February. He said there is no need to add the US to the Normandy format, a quartet mechanism composed of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine. Instead, Washington can participate in the peace process on a bilateral basis. At a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, Karasin said Washington has been able to persuade Kiev to start a dialogue with the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk republics. He added any attempt to secure a long-term solution to the Ukraine crisis is doomed to fail in the absence of direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk.