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Lavrov Says Russia Did Not 'Lose' Ukraine

Sputnik News

16:14 25.12.2014(updated 17:31 25.12.2014)

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov disagrees that Moscow has 'lost' Ukraine, he said commenting on Western media claims that ties between Russia and its neighbor have been damaged beyond repair by the civil conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea's decision to rejoin Russia.

MOSCOW, December 25 (Sputnik) – Russian-Ukrainian relations are likely to return to the pre-crisis level when the civil conflict in the country is over, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"I disagree that we had 'lost' Ukraine," he said, commenting on Western media claims that ties between Russia and its neighbor have been damaged beyond repair by the civil conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea's decision to rejoin Russia.

"I'm convinced that this tragic period in the history of Ukraine will eventually be over, that the people of Ukraine will decide to reconcile through the unity of all parts of Ukraine on the basis of compromise and balance of interests… Attitude to Russia will be wonderful in such a state," the Russian minister said.

Speaking with US media in May, the Russian top diplomat denied claims that Russia considered Ukraine its 'backyard.' Lavrov stressed that Russians and Ukrainians shared a 'historical family feeling' and cited more than 300 years of common history and Slavic heritage.

Moscow and the government in Kiev have been at odds over the manner in which the crisis in eastern Ukraine should be settled, with Russia urging for a comprehensive peace dialogue that would involve both Ukrainian authorities and militias, which Kiev has been referring to as 'terrorists.'

The standoff began in March when the mainly Russian-speaking Crimea voted by a landslide to rejoin Russia after being part of independent Ukraine for more than two decades following the fall of the Soviet Union.

Relations continued to sour, and Kiev accused Moscow of supporting pro-independence forces with military supplies and even of a direct military intervention, a claim the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.

© Sputnik