Attempts to blame Russia for events in Ukraine are unacceptable - Lavrov
19 February 2014, 19:37
The attempts made by some Western politicians to blame Russia for the current situation in Ukraine are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
'They are now trying to blame us, accusations are made by some politicians in Western countries, who say that Russia is to blame for everything because it is trying to 're-Sovietize' the post-Soviet space. These attempts use bad methods,' Lavrov told a press conference after meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart.
Lavrov said he is confident that 'any reasonable and impartial observer understands that very well.'
'We confirm that the situation should be settled by the current administration of Ukraine within the framework of the constitutional prerogatives and we caution against attempts of intrusive mediation. It seems to me that our European partners have done enough 'mediation,'' Lavrov said.
Lavrov said Russia is calling for the interests of the people of Ukraine to be put above geopolitical interests.
Ukraine crisis: EU Parliament's MP urges to impose sanctions on Russia
A member of the ruling faction in the European Parliament has come up with an initiative to impose sanctions against Russia that he said was supporting Ukraine's regime. Russia has been in a waiting stance ever since the escalation on Tuesday, when Ukraine's capital Kiev descended into more chaos.
This came today from Poland's MEP Jacek Sariush-Volsky of the center-right European People's Party at a press conference in the EU parliament.
However, a spokesperson with the European Commission ruled out the possibility of sanctions against Russia ahead of the EU foreign chiefs' meeting on February 20.
Conversely, the spokesman said that the 28 foreign policy heads of EU member countries were going to engage in consultations with Russia in order to clear up all controversies that exist between Moscow and Brussels on the possible outcome of an association deal between Ukraine and the EU.
Russia blames 'extremists' for Ukraine crisis, suggests attempted coup
Russia has apportioned all blame for the deteriorating situation in Ukraine on the extremists. This is according to President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"The president believes that the ongoing situation in Ukraine is the fault of the extremists," Mr. Peskov said today.
He added Russia wished that its Ukrainian partners would 'ensure the settlement of the situation that has taken shape as soon as possible.'
'Moscow strongly condemns violence of radical elements, who in the breach of all agreements previously reached actually used the implementation of the conditions on amnestying previously detained people and returned to violent actions immediately,' Peskov told reporters.
'Besides, their actions can be treated and are treated in Moscow solely as an attempt at a state coup,' Peskov said. 'Together with the seizure of state organizations in various cities of Ukraine, the seizure of law enforcement facilities and attempts to seize arms occurs as well,' he said.
Russia biding its time on Ukraine
Moscow is keeping tabs on Ukraine but will not interfere with the crisis for now, President Putin's spokesman has said Wednesday. Russia has been in a waiting stance ever since the escalation on Tuesday, when Ukraine's capital Kiev descended into more chaos as death toll rose to 25 people.
"The Kremlin is closely watching the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and we will definitely speak on it a bit later," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today in an interview with online magazine Slon.
"The idea is not to intervene in the Kiev unrest. We've said that many times, the Kremlin will stay true to this stance."
Militants' actions in Kiev on Fe 18-19 not spontaneous, but staged - Russian diplomat
Chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee Mikhail Margelov believes that militants' actions on Kiev streets on February 18-19 are not spontaneous, but staged.
The senator noted the common delusion that the so-called Maidan and its battle squad is not stage-managed, it is Cossak outlaws and 'national power'. 'The very events at Grushevsky Street disproved it: the militants dealt with law enforcers' attacks too skillfully, refilled armory of shields, casks and clubs, and added cocktail bombs to convert it into napalm. The course of street riots February 18-19 showed that the militants fight in the so-called 'Halych format' — it came to gunfire, and there are fatalities on both sides. There is evident organized nature behind the fighting,' Margelov believes.
In addition, he said that 'after a fragile truce, the Maidan gains momentum in provinces: in Lvov, Ternopol, Ivano-Frankovsk'. 'They not only occupy state offices there, but storm police wards and dismantle Berkut officers,' the Russian senator stated.
Margelov expressed confidence that 'debacles and shooting that John Kerry dubbed 'fight of the Ukrainian majority for Europe's democratic future' are fairly staged and managed by experienced specialists in street fighting'. 'Klitschko and Yatsenyuk hardly possess such military talents,' he assumed, adding that the job of these politicians is 'to compose joint plans with the West to make up an oppositionist government and carry out a constitutional reform, which ought to be followed by western financial aid'.
Chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee says it's early to make any forecasts yet. 'It would be a great achievement to stop the street mayhem and start a responsible political dialogue. Still, even this may not consolidate the Ukrainian society. It's split: I cannot remember a single Ukrainian parliament that hadn't fistfights,' the senator concluded.
Voice of Russia, TASS, Interfax, RIA
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