RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has argued that only federal autonomy for eastern Ukraine can bring peace there.

Mr Lavrov was speaking to reporters following a meeting of the so-called Normandy Format states of Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia in the German city of Munich on Saturday.

“A constitutional reform is indispensable for Donbass to achieve its permanent status,” he said, “and must also lead to the appropriate legislation — and not just for three years, but on a permanent basis.”