Expulsion from G8 Summit is No Great Tragedy- Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Deshchytsia, for the first time since Russia's move into Crimea triggered a diplomatic crisis.

"We set forth our vision to establish good national dialogue taking into account all residents of Ukraine," Mr Lavrov told a news conference.

'No great tragedy'

He also said he saw "no great tragedy" if Moscow was expelled from the Group of Eight (G8) club of leading nations for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

"If our Western partners think that this format has outlived itself, then so be it. At the very least, we are not trying to cling on to this format," he told reporters.

The remaining members of the powerful body, who also met on the sidelines of the nuclear summit, agreed that the planned G8 summit in Russia would be called off because Russia's aggression toward Ukraine.

Mr Lavrov says Russia is unfazed by the prospect of being expelled from the G8.

Other members of the group of industrialised countries have agreed not to hold a planned summit in Russia.

The move comes as Ukrainian troops are leaving Crimea after Russian forces seized military bases in the region.