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Poland called on
Russia on Tuesday to help defuse the crisis in Ukraine by
preventing militants and weapons from crossing into the eastern
part of the country, where pro-Russian rebels are fighting
government forces.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski spoke at a joint
news conference with his Russian and German counterparts after
trilateral talks that failed to produce any breakthrough in a
crisis that has badly strained Moscow's ties with the West.

"If Russia wants to prove that it wants de-escalation in
Ukraine, the best way to do it would be to stop the flow of
separatists and arms through the Russian-Ukrainian border,"
Sikorski said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier took a more
nuanced stance, saying both Russia and Ukraine needed to better
control their common border and suggesting the need for "common
border management in some form".

Russia's Sergei Lavrov repeated Moscow's demand that the
Kiev government stop armed operations against the separatists,
urging an immediate ceasefire and the start of talks on
Ukraine's future.

"Ending the military operation against the protesters is of
course key, in our view ... Nobody is interested in a
continuation of war there," said Lavrov.

Tension between Lavrov and Sikorski was palpable during the
news conference.

DOUBLE STANDARDS

Sikorski said Ukraine, a sprawling former Soviet republic of
45 million people pitched between Russia and central Europe, had
the right to deploy the army against armed groups on its soil.

Lavrov said that was a show of double standards, noting that
the West had opposed the use of force by Ukrainian authorities
against protesters who drove Moscow-backed president Viktor
Yanukovich from power in February.

After Yanukovich's ouster, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea
region in March and massed tens of thousands of troops near its
long border with Ukraine, igniting fears in Kiev and the West
that Moscow would seek to take over more Ukrainian territory.

Sikorski said he was glad to hear "that what Russia has done
in Crimea will not be repeated" - a comment that drew ironic
laughter from Lavrov who did not comment himself on that issue.

The Polish minister said Russian President Vladimir Putin's
promise to respect the results of the May 25 presidential
election that brought confectionary magnate Petro Poroshenko to
power in Ukraine had been a step in the right direction.

Russia should not feel threatened by Poroshenko's plans for
closer ties with the European Union, Sikorski said, adding that
Ukrainian membership of NATO - something that Moscow strongly
opposes - was "not on the agenda".

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Sabine Siebold; Writing by
Steve Gutterman; Editing by Gareth Jones)