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Russia's
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov looks on during a joint press
conference with
his Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn following their
meeting in Moscow on
February 25, 2014 (AFP, Vasily Maximov)
|
Moscow —
Moscow pledged Tuesday it would not intervene in the crisis in neighbouring
Ukraine but said the country should not be forced to choose between Russia and
the West.
"We
confirmed our principled position of non-intervention in Ukraine's internal
affairs and expect that everyone follows similar logic," Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said.
"We
are interested in Ukraine being part of the European family, in all senses of
the word," he said after talks with Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn.
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An
anti-government activist gives a V-sign
as he dismantles the star, a Soviet-era
symbol, from the flagpole on the Ukrainian
parliament building dome in Kiev on
Feb. 25, 2014 (AFP, Anatolii Stepanov)
|
His remarks
signalled a possible softening of Moscow's stance after harsh statements both
by Lavrov's own ministry and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.
Medvedev
had accused Ukraine's new leadership of waging an "armed mutiny" and
said there was noone for Moscow to communicate with in Kiev.
President
Vladimir Putin has remained silent on the regime change in the former Soviet
republic and the situation in Ukraine was not mentioned when Russian state
channels interviewed him in Sochi on Tuesday.
Asselborn
struck a conciliatory tone, saying it was necessary to maintain historic ties
between Russia and Ukraine.
He also
said Ukraine's stability could only be a product of a broad dialogue that must
include Russia, both on political reforms and financial aid.
Asselborn
said the 25 billion euros Ukraine says it needs to stave off collapse was an
"enormous sum" but added: "We understand that the country is
close to financial ruin."
Russia has
put its $15 billion loan to Ukraine on hold in the wake of the crisis after
transferring an initial tranche of $3 billion.
"We
want the resources to go toward real reforms in Ukraine," Lavrov said.
- National
reconciliation -
He said it
was important for Ukraine to reinstate law and order and bring about national
reconciliation and constitutional reform before a planned May 25 presidential
election.
"We
would like to understand how the government which will be formed will view these
key goals."
Moscow had
denounced the opposition in Kiev for weeks as gun-toting extremists and even
neo-Nazis, and on Sunday recalled its ambassador in Kiev for consultations.
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People
visit a barricade on Kiev's
Independence square on February 25,
2014 (AFP,
Bulent Kilic)
|
Russia has
denounced measures seen in Moscow as anti-Russian, notably the decision to
repeal a law introduced in 2012 that elevated the status of the Russian
language in regions where it is widely spoken.
The foreign
ministry also Tuesday lashed out at the toppling of a statue of Russian field
marshal Mikhail Kutuzov in the western city of Lviv, calling it a
"barbaric and Russophobic action."
"We
demand that the new Ukrainian authorities stop this lawlessness," it said.
On Tuesday,
an activist climbed on to the roof of the parliament in Kiev and dismantled the
Soviet star from the pinnacle of the Stalin-era building.
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