Moscow, Dhu-AlQa'dah 06, 1435, September 01, 2014, SPA -- Russia is seeking a peaceful resolution of the crisis in eastern Ukraine, its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday, ahead of international talks in Belarus, according to dpa. The Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying Russia was "promoting a political approach" to what he called "this hardest crisis and tragedy." The agency quoted him as saying Western countries should demand that the Ukrainian government stop using heavy weapons and aircraft against civilians in rebel-held areas. The West should not threaten Russia with new sanctions, he said. Lavrov was speaking ahead of talks in the Belarus capital, Minsk, involving officials from Russia, Ukraine, pro-Russian separatist rebels and international monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). --SPA 13:36 LOCAL TIME 10:36 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w