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Reuters
Reuters
Politics

Ukraine's Donbas 'unconditional priority' for Moscow, Russia's Lavrov says

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference with Mali's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdoulaye Diop (not pictured), in Moscow, Russia May 20, 2022. Yuri Kadobnov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

The "liberation" of Ukraine's Donbas is an "unconditional priority" for Moscow, while other Ukrainian territories should decide their future on their own, RIA news agency cited Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Sunday.

"The liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, recognised by the Russian Federation as independent states, is an unconditional priority," Lavrov said in an interview with French TV channel TF1, according to RIA.

For the rest of the territories in Ukraine, "the people should decide their future in these areas," he said.

(Reporting in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly and Ron Popeski in Winnipeg; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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