Brussels, 22/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 22 January, the Russian ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, criticised the threats of “possible action” from the EU towards Ukraine due to the violence (see other article). “The language towards Ukraine must not be that of sanctions but the language of support and assistance”, he told journalists. “In general, sanctions can only be taken by the United Nations Security Council (which includes Russia). (…) Whatever the measures taken by the US or the EU, they are only unilateral measures”, he added.
“The dramatic events are a source of concern for Russia and the EU. It is only through the end of the violence and measures to lead the country to a deep political process that the situation will be able to improve”, he said, hoping and wishing that “the Ukrainian people will make a sober choice and exit this crisis without further violence”. The violence must stop, he stated. In Chizhov's view, the situation has degenerated - with clashes between extremist groups, nationalists and the police. “In recent days, nobody involved in the clashes has spoken about European values”, he said, adding that “the leaders of the opposition have disappeared from the scene”.
Stating that the violence which killed two people during the night of 21-22 January must be the subject of an investigation, Chizhov said that “we have no information that corroborates the accusations according to which these people were killed by the police”.
Chizhov also described as unacceptable the fact that foreign countries can call on Ukraine to repeal its law on protests. “We have not planned to discuss Ukraine or to take decisions on Ukraine behind the back of the Ukrainians”, he said. He recalled that Ukraine had proposed a trilateral discussion on the association agreement, and that Russia had agreed to this - unlike the EU. “We will see if the EU changes its position during the summit”, he said.
On 21 January, Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the “indecent” support of certain European governments in opposition. “We would have preferred that some of our European colleagues do not behave with so much thoughtlessness with regard to the Ukrainian crisis”, he said. (CG/transl.fl)