Russia Rules Out New Geneva Talks

Sergei Lavrov added there was no point as an April accord between the U.S. , E.U. and Russia had not been implemented

He spoke after a Council of Europe meeting which was expected to support Ukraine's plans for a May 25th election

But Mr. Lavrov called an election "unusual" at a time when the army was being used against the population

Ukraine was ready to backa new round of talks in Geneva , acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsie said , as long as Moscow supported Presidential elections

He later appealed for international observers to be sent to Ukraine to monitor the May elections

OSCE Chairman Didier Burkhalter said there should be a cease fire in Ukraine ahead of the poll , as holding it was very difficult in the current situation

At a news confrence in Vienna on Tuesday , Mr. Lavrov said holding further international talks on Ukraine would be "going round in circles"

Instead the government in Kiev and it's Western backers needed to implement the steps to resolve the crisis agreed in Geneva last month , he said

These involved all parties , including the separatists in Eastern Ukraine , refraining from violence , vacating occupied buildings and being disarmed in return for amnesty

The May 25th Presidential election was called after Pro Kremlin Viktor Yanukavych was overthrown  in February

"Scheduling an election during a time when the army is being used against a part of the population is not conventional , it's not Afganistan , Mr. Lavrov noted 

Earlier French President Francois Hollande warned there would be "chaos and the risk of civil war" if the election did not take place

Kiev has rejected the Pro Russian activists demands for greater autonomy for Eastern regions , fearing they could lead to the break up of the country or more regions being annexed

Separatists in Donetsk have proclaimed a "People's Republic " and are preparing to hold a independence referendum on Sunday

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the plan "contrived and bogus" and said the U.S. rejected it as an "'illegal effort to further divide Ukraine"