Chizhov: EU Council decision on Ukraine ignores Kyiv policy that leads to civil war
BRUSSELS. April 15 (Interfax) - The way the Ukrainian situation evolves within the next hours and days will show whether there is something to discuss with the acting Ukrainian foreign minister in Geneva on April 17, Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov.
He made the statement to the Russian press when commenting on the decision regarding Ukraine that the EU foreign ministers made in Luxembourg on Monday.
"It [the document issued by the Council of the European Union] is a lot of things, but I would like to draw attention to what it lacks. Regretfully, it does not say a word, does not assess the policy of the Kyiv authorities that are ready to plunge both east Ukrainian regions and the country as a whole into the abyss of civil war," the senior diplomat said.
He noted that "the Council of the European Union condemned certain armed individuals operating in east Ukrainian cities who were allegedly trying to destabilize that country."
"Alas, nothing was said about the ongoing destabilization of Ukraine by the actions of those who had grabbed power in Kyiv in a state coup. There are also a number of phrases, which are biased and unfair, about the policy of Russia in the Ukrainian crisis, up to the totally inappropriate demand that interferes not just in internal affairs but even in the internal lawmaking process," Chizhov said.
He said he referred to the demand for the immediate repeal of the Federation Council mandate to use the Armed Forces, which had been granted to the Russian president.
"Here is another distortion: it actually said "the use of force on Ukrainian territory", not the Armed Forces," the Russian envoy pointed out.
"Speaking of concrete consequences, this is a strictly political document and we will definitely bear it in mind but the most important is what happens on site, in Ukraine, within the next few days or even hours," the chief of the Russian diplomatic mission said.
"Indeed, the appeals and vigorous statements concerning the quadripartite meeting due in Geneva on Thursday sound optimistic but, obviously, there will be nothing to speak about with the so-called acting Ukrainian foreign minister if the Ukrainian situation develops into massive bloodshed," Chizhov presumed.