BELGIUM: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says not to understand NATO's condemnation of Ukraine authorities for using excessive force against protesters and urges outsiders not to interfere

Record ID: 862952

  • Title: BELGIUM: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says not to understand NATO's condemnation of Ukraine authorities for using excessive force against protesters and urges outsiders not to interfere
  • Date: 4th December 2013
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (DECEMBER 4, 2013) (REUTERS) CHRISTMAS TREE OUTSIDE NATO HEADQUARTERS NATO FLAG
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • City:
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVABG24K3PZXKGIEXBBRIJBSU5X3
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  • Story Text: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday (December 4) he did not understand NATO's condemnation of Ukraine authorities for using excessive force against protesters and urged outsiders not to interfere in the situation there.

    "I don't understand why NATO adopts such statements. It helps creating some kind of distorted picture and sends the wrong signals which may cause the wrong understanding of the situation. We act on the assumption that it is up to Ukraine, it's a domestic issue. I do not quite understand the scope of their aggressive actions, as President Putin has also mentioned before," Lavrov told a news conference after meeting NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, referring to an alliance statement issued on Tuesday.

    "I hope that Ukrainian politicians will be able to bring the situation into a peaceful vein. We encourage everybody not to interfere," Lavrov said, speaking through an interpreter.
    The crisis in Ukraine has exposed once more the East-West tug-of-war playing out in Ukraine, which has oscillated between the EU and former master Moscow since the 2004-5 Orange Revolution overthrew the post-Soviet political order.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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