Russia says Lavrov, German FM stress need for dialogue in Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, agreed on Tuesday that it was important to promote dialogue to defuse the Ukraine crisis.

Lavrov and Steinmeier, meeting on the sidelines of a Council of Europe session in Vienna, underscored "the need to continue joint efforts by Russia, the United States, the EU and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to foster the start of a Ukraine-wide national dialogue in the interests of resolving all existing problems," the Foreign Ministry said.