MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Accusing Russia of illegally crossing the Ukrainian border without any facts is non-perspective, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.
“I will emphasize once again: we have full responsibility for our part of the border, and the Ukrainians have full responsibility for theirs. The OSCE mission is helping the Ukrainians, and we’re ready just like Germany is to provide everything needed for monitoring and observing. Accusing us without any grounded facts is probably non-perspective,” Lavrov said during a briefing.
Lavrov added that “if anyone has any facts to show that there was any sort of illegal crossing of the border, I ask that these facts be presented, otherwise it will be just like with the Malaysian Boeing when accusations were heard…then silence.”
Earlier in August, Russia sent a humanitarian convoy under the auspices of the Red Cross to the regions in eastern Ukraine, which have been suffering from power and water shortages amid ongoing military operation against independence supporters, initiated by Kiev government in April.
The convoy comprised 227 trucks carrying about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid that included baby food, medicine, grain, sugar, sleeping bags, generators and other essentials.
Kiev later lashed out at Moscow, accusing it of allegedly moving its humanitarian aid convoy across the border without permission from the Ukrainian government.
The convoy arrived at the Russian-Ukrainian border on August 14 but entered Ukraine a week later, as Kiev had been postponing its final approval for the trucks to go ahead.
Moscow reminded that Russia received an official agreement from Kiev authorities for the passage of the humanitarian convoy through the Ukrainian border on August 12.
Ukraine and the West have repeatedly accused Russia of illegal Ukrainian border crossing. Moscow denied these allegations.
Russia also rejected all unjustified accusations of interfering in the internal affairs of Ukraine and denied its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
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