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High-level diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine failed to make much headway
at talks in Paris on Wednesday. Washington and Moscow were unable to see eye
to eye... while Russia refused to recognize the interim Ukrainian government.
As our Connie Kim reports.... the top diplomats of the two countries will continue talks on
Thursday. International efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine took baby steps forward
in Paris Wednesday with the United States and Russia agreeing to continue talks the
next day, but no progress was
made between Russia and the new Ukrainian government.
Speaking after the meeting,... U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said talks with Russia
will continue to try and de-escalate the crisis.
"We agreed to continue intense discussions in the coming days with Russia with Ukrainians
in order to see how we can help normalize the situation, stabilize it and overcome the
crisis."
Kerry said he would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again in Rome on Thursday.
However, discussions between Russia and Ukraine did not materialize with Lavrov calling Ukraine's
new government "illegitimate". In Brussels, NATO announced there will be
no talks with Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to pull out Russian
forces from Ukraine's Crimea peninsula... where the tense stand-off continues between
pro-Russian forces and the Ukrainian military. NATO said it will also back out from a joint
mission linked to Syrian chemical weapons, and help build the capacity of the Ukrainian
military. Meanwhile, the European Union has unveiled
a package of aid and grants to Ukraine's new government worth some 15 billion U.S. dollars
over the next couple of years. Connie Kim, Arirang News.