Ukraine says return of Crimea a must for mending ties with Russia

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin attends a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

TOKYO (Reuters) - No normalisation of ties between Ukraine and Russia is likely unless the region of Crimea, now under Russian control, is returned to Kiev's sovereignty, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on Tuesday.

Klimkin, on the second day of his two-day trip to Japan, also said the border between Ukraine and Russia needed to be completely closed to achieve any settlement to the armed conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.