SLOVAKIA’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák has voiced concerns over the latest violent clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian protesters in the Black Sea port of Odessa, which claimed dozens of lives on Friday, May 2.
"The images of meaningless bloodshed on the streets of Odessa have filled me with utmost grief. Violent confrontations and hatred leading to armed clashes won't solve anything. I'm convinced that the only way forward for Ukraine lies in peaceful coexistence based on the principles of equal treatment of everyone in a unified and democratic country," stated Lajčák, as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding that political affairs must be resolved by political means – not via street battles.
The minister at the same time added that stability in Ukraine can be achieved only by means of easing tensions and using the full potential of Geneva negotiations of April 17, in which Ukraine, Russia, the US and the European Union agreed on a series of measures aimed at pulling eastern Ukraine back from the brink of war.
Ukrainian authorities announced that at least 46 people were killed in Odessa on Friday evening, most of whom were caught in a building set on fire by pro-Ukrainian forces in their ongoing clashes with pro-Russian activists. The bloodshed was the culmination of a series of street battles between the two groups of protesters, in which both sides threw bricks and Molotov cocktails.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
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