Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denies Lavrov's statement regarding Crimea, Donbas

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov showed a lack of understanding of the current negotiation process, saying that "the issues of Crimea and Donbas have been resolved," Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said.

"Lavrov demonstrates misunderstanding of the negotiation process. The issues of Crimea and Donbas will be settled for good after Ukraine restores its sovereignty over them. During the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation presented its proposals on how to achieve this goal," Nikolenko wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

Earlier, Lavrov said that he considers progress in the negotiation process "understanding by Ukrainian colleagues that the issues of Crimea and Donbas have been finally resolved."