(VOVworld) – The Speaker of the Russian Federation Council’s upper house, Valentina Matviyenko, has called on the West to stop threatening and talk with Russia about the Ukraine situation.
At a press conference on Wednesday she said it would be hard to isolate Russia because it has integrated deeply into the world economy, adding that Russia imports 40% of EU goods and exports 50% of its products to the EU, so any economic sanctions will severely hurt both sides.
The same day, President Vladimir Putin said he doesn’t want political tensions to damage economic cooperation with Russia’s partners and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his counterparts from the US and key EU states to try to resolve the crisis in Ukraine on the sidelines of a conference on Lebanon in Paris.
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| Ukraine's crisis triggers intense arguments between Russia and the West. (Photo: Reuters) |
The Russian Minister said it was agreed that all sides need to respect an EU-brokered peace deal signed last month. The deal asked parties in Ukraine to halt protests, restore the 2004 constitution, and establish a national solidarity government within 10 days to hold an early presidential election.
The deal asked protestors to withdraw from government offices and public roads and hand over their weapons to the authorities but they have not complied. Lavov said further discussions are necessary.