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Russia says to attend Ukraine talks if Paris, Berlin think it's useful

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference following his meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias (not pictured) at the Foreign Ministry in Athens, Greece November 2, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday he was willing to attend four-way talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine if mediators Germany and France believe the meeting can be useful. On Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Paris and Berlin had invited the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia to attend the so-called Normandy Format talks in the Belarussian capital Minsk on Nov. 29. "There remains a fairly serious risk that this could turn out to be a meeting for the sake of meeting," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow, according to a foreign ministry transcript. "Nevertheless, if my other colleagues in the Normandy Format are willing to take such a risk, then we will go to the meeting on Nov. 29." (Reporting by Christian Lowe; editing by Polina Devitt)