Russia not rejecting any Ukraine settlement formats, yet summit contacts need to be thoroughly prepared - Lavrov

MOSCOW. Aug 19 (Interfax) - Russia is not rejecting any Ukraine settlement formats, yet summit contacts need to be thoroughly prepared, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"We are not rejecting any work formats, either bilateral or trilateral, and the president has repeatedly said so," Lavrov said in an interview with Nailya Asker-zade on the Rossiya-24 television channel (VGTRK).

At the same time, "any contacts involving the heads of state need to be thoroughly prepared," Lavrov said.

"Most importantly, any formats - one plus one, one plus two, and numerous multilateral formats, including those within the United Nations - the purpose of these formats should not be someone writing in newspapers next morning or showing on television in the evening or gossiping on social networks [...]. Instead, should aim at preparing summits step-by-step in a phased manner, from the expert level up, taking all the steps necessary. This is the serious approach we will always be supporting," Lavrov said.