Naryshkin urges foreign parliaments to admit Kyiv is responsible for tensions
MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin has urged foreign parliaments to admit that the Kyiv authorities are responsible for the latest escalation of tensions in Ukraine.
"We call on foreign parliaments to take a sober look at the Ukrainian situation with their eyes wide open, to muster strength and say honestly that those who occupied high positions in Kyiv as a result of the coup bear the main responsibility for the split in the multinational and complex Ukrainian society," Naryshkin told reporters on Wednesday.
"Russia more than anyone does not want this happen to such a fraternal country," the speaker continued.
He expressed concern about the reports coming from Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and other cities of southeastern Ukraine. "We are witnessing mass protests of local residents and attempts of the incumbent Ukrainian authorities to suppress these protests by force," he said.
"The sooner Ukrainian politicians realize the necessity of a profound constitutional reform involving the entire society, a reform, which will embed the principle of federalism and guarantee equal rights of all citizens and the status of the Russian language, the sooner the escalation of the deep crisis can be stopped," Naryshkin said.
"Otherwise, there will be chaos, mass impoverishment and a final loss of the state's independence," the State Duma speaker said.
