MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia is open to having an "honest, equal" dialogue with foreign states on the crisis in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.

"We are open to an honest, equal and objective dialogue with our foreign partners to find a way to help all of Ukraine come out of the crisis," Mr Lavrov said at a televised news conference in Moscow with his Tajik counterpart, in a clear reference to the West.