(VOVworld) – Russia is ready to offer widest possible support to the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin (Photo: RIA Novosti)

According to the statement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin met with Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleg Sarev in Moscow. Karasin affirmed Moscow has prepared to offer the strongest support to Ukraine but stressed that the political crisis should be solved by Ukrainians themselves in close cooperation with the special monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

In reply, Sarev said he wants to directly meet with the Kiev interim authorities to explain the stance of the Ukraine’s southeastern region over the current situation in the country. Earlier, on Thursday online dialogue with the Ukrainian people, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia is ready to cooperate with all candidates in the upcoming Ukrainian presidential election.

A report by the special monitoring mission of the OSCE released on Saturday said the situation in the central and western regions of Ukraine is relatively quiet while it remains tense in Lugansk and Donesk province.