Mr Lavrov says Russia is unfazed by the prospect² of being expelled from the G8.

 

Other members of the group of industrialised countries have agreed not to hold a planned summit in Russia.

 

The move comes as Ukrainian troops are leaving Crimea after Russian forces seized military bases in the region.

 

Earlier this month, Russia annexed³ Crimea from Ukraine after a referendum considered illegal by Kiev and the West.

 

 

Mr Lavrov met Mr Deshchytsia, Ukraine's interim⁴ foreign minister, on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in The Hague on Monday.

 

"We set forth⁵ our vision to establish good national dialogue taking into account all residents of Ukraine," Mr Lavrov told a news conference.

 

He also said he saw "no great tragedy" if Moscow was expelled from the G8 group of leading nations over its annexation⁶（合并） of the Crimean peninsula.

 

"If our Western partners think that this format⁷ has outlived itself, then so be it. At the very least, we are not trying to cling on to this format," he told reporters.

 

The remaining members of the body, who also met on the sidelines of the nuclear summit, agreed that the planned G8 summit in Russia in June would be called off because of Russia's aggression⁸ toward Ukraine.

 

Instead they will meet as the G7 in Brussels at about the same time.

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry also met Mr Lavrov on Monday and expressed "strong concern" about the massing of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border, Reuters quoted a senior US state department official as saying.

 

Several G8 members have also called for Russia's membership of the group to be suspended.

 

Meanwhile, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has denied the authenticity⁹ of a taped conversation in which she allegedly called for Russia to be turned into "scorched¹⁰ earth" and for ethnic¹¹ Russians in Ukraine to be killed.

 

Ms Tymoshenko said the recording¹², which has featured prominently on Russian news reports, was produced by Russia's security services. 

 

She admitted speaking by telephone with Nestor Shufrych, a member of Ukraine's parliament and a close ally, but she said her words had been edited to discredit¹³ her.

点击收听单词发音