(VOVworld) – Russia wants the military campaign in eastern and southern Ukraine to end.

Chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Didier Burkhalter (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting. (Photo: Reuteurs)

Russian President Vladimir Putin was speaking after a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday with Didier Burkhalter, Chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Putin said military action will not resolve the conflict, only inflame the situation. He asked Ukraine’s federalization supporters to delay the referendum, scheduled for May 11, to pave the way for dialogues. Burkhalter favours a national dialogue of all Ukrainians but said there is no plan to hold a second Geneva conference on Ukraine.
The same day, during a discussion by the German Parliament on Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Ukraine’s crisis should be resolved through diplomatic means and called for another Geneva conference involving Ukraine, Russia, the EU and the US.
White House officials appeared Wednesday before the US Congress to present the President’s Ukraine policy. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said economic sanctions on Russia have proved effective, suggesting that the US is likely to impose more sanctions. Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Robert Menendez urged the White House to strengthen US military ties with NATO members in central and eastern Europe.