Kerry, Lavrov: Ukraine shouldn't be 'pawn'

PARIS (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday Ukraine should not be a “pawn” in a power struggle between East and West, but allowed that significant differences between Washington and Moscow could hurt efforts to prevent that.

In unscripted remarks to reporters before meeting in Paris, Kerry and Lavrov said Moscow and Washington agree that Ukraine should be a peaceful, stable and prosperous bridge between Russia and Europe. Kerry said the U.S. wanted to see Russia embrace Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko’s desire to reach out to all Ukrainians, including ethnic Russians.