CRI听力:Ukraine Holds Talks without Pro-Russia Groups

Ukrainian government has held talks on the potential decentralization of power in Kiev.

The meetings have not included pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine, making it unclear as to what the results of the meeting can deliver.

CRI's Jordan Lee has more.

Reporter: Ukrainian lawmakers and international mediators have taken part in the meeting, which has been focused on the situation in the country's eastern regions.

The meeting is part of a peace plan crafted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The OECD is a security group that includes Russia and the US.

As part of the meeting, Ukraine's central authorities have crafted plans to address disaffection in eastern Ukraine by forging a decentralization agenda which might cede greater powers to regional governments.

However, no pro-Russian groups, who have already declared independence, have been included in the talks.

Interim Ukranian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk says there will be no dialogue with armed opponents.

"Our key goal now is peace and quiet in our country and this peace and quiet must be and can be achieved through political and diplomatic means and we are going to have dialogue with all those who do not have weapons in their hands, don't shoot and kill and kidnap peaceful citizens."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on-record saying its necessary to ensure equal participation of all regions of Ukraine for the national dialogue to succeed.

The White House is echoing this suggestion.

White House spokesperson Jay Carney:

"Now we understand certainly the unwillingness of the Ukrainian government to have participants in these roundtables who literally have blood on their hands, but those who represent the regions where there are issues that merit serious dialogue around constitutional reform and levels of autonomy for different regions as it relates to the centre are certainly part of this effort and we commend it."

The meeting this week comes after the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence after two referendums over the weekend.

It also comes as the Ukrainian government prepares to hold a presidential election to permanently replace former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.

His ouster by the Ukrainian parliament is what's led to the deterioration of the situation in Ukraine.

Mykhaelo Okhendovsky is the head of Ukraine's Central Election Commission.

"We would really like to see a high turnout for these elections and only then can the elections be a stabilizing factor in this country as well as something that can settle all of these conflicts in Ukraine."

Pro-Russia activists in Luhansk have already declared they will not participate in the elections.

Ukraine's interim government is calling on Russia to recognize the upcoming elections.

At the same time, Russia has been calling on Ukrainian authorities to withdraw their troops from eastern Ukraine.

But at the same time, in a move to soften its tone, the Russian government says it will resume gas price talks with Ukrainian authorities if pays off part of its mounting gas debt.

The offer comes on the heels of Kiev securing a new loan agreement worth over a billion euros.

Russia's state-run gas giant Gazprom contends Ukraine owes it around 3.5-billion US dollars.

The Russian side has hiked its gas prices for Ukraine by as much as 90-percent following the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych.

For CRI, I'm Jordan Lee.