国际英语新闻:Russia urges Kiev to show goodwill for Putin's plan to end conflict in eastern Ukraine

MOSCOW, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Russia hopes authorities of Kiev to show goodwill for President Vladimir Putin's plan on the settlement of conflict in Ukraine, said Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the upper house of Russian parliament Thursday.

"All depends on Kiev's goodwill which we hope will be shown. Russia is ready to do its best to ensure peace in the long- suffering southeastern regions of Ukraine," Matviyenko said.

Putin proposed a seven-point plan Wednesday to stop military clashes in southeastern Ukraine after a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reportedly had agreed on the broad outlines of the seven-point peace settlement that would temporarily freeze the conflict on the ground.

Matviyenko described the plan as "balanced," claiming "it does not give unilateral advantages to any party," according to a report filed by the Itar-Tass news agency.

"Russia proposes a 'roadmap' towards peace, which should be concretized and corrected by the Contact Group. It opens the way for substantive talks," she said.

She also met with OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva, reiterating that Russia hopes to cooperate with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the settlement of Ukrainian crisis. "We seek to maintain close cooperation with the OSCE and open for reciprocal interaction."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier Moscow is ready to take practical steps toward the de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis in line with Putin's proposal.

Representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE are scheduled to hold talks in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, Friday in search of political ways out of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.