THE HAGUE, Netherlands
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchystsia at the third Nuclear Security Summit at The Hague - the first direct high-level contact between the two states since Russia formally annexed Crimea.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting on Monday, Lavrov underlined that contact would be maintained with the Ukrainian authorities, and repeated that Crimea's annexation to Russia on March 21 was in compliance with Russian and international laws.
Lavrov also stressed that they aim "to preserve the Russians who have been living in Crimea for generations."
Responding to a question on the expulsion of Russia from the G-8 group of leading industrialized countries, Lavrov said the G-8 was an "unofficial club" which had no official membership.
"For this reason, as of the definition of G-8, it is not a question of whether to grant G-8 membership, or to expel from the G-8," said Lavrov.
After the meeting with Lavrov, Ukraine's FM Deshchystsia sent a message via his Twitter account, saying that he had finally met the Russian minister.
"There is nothing new, old discourse," he tweeted.
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