Russia slams European Union's call to India for mediation in Ukraine crisis

NEW DELHI: Russia has slammed European Union's (EU) call to India for mediation in Ukraine crisis and claimed the EU envoy's recent remarks in this regard "is a case of sheer duplicity and sly distortion of the core reasons which led to the intra-Ukrainian conflict".

"It must be reminded that those were not the people of Donetsk and Lugansk who unleashed the bloody fratricidal war but precisely the Kiev authorities who chose the all-out war against its own people instead of launching a nationwide dialogue and dutifully implementing the core principles of the Minsk Agreements – constitutional reform, decentralization and self-rule for Eastern regions. With tacit support of the US and EU a violent coup d’état took place in Kiev in February 2014," the Russian Embassy to India noted in a statement.

The European Union should retrospect on its own policy of appeasement instead of trying to seek India’s services in persuading Russia to do something, according to the Embassy.

"Our special and privileged strategic partnership has no relation to the West’s blunders in their policies towards the Ukraine and Kiev’s self-induced crisis. We highly value India’s balanced and independent approach to this issue."

The necessity of an inclusive Ukrainian dialogue, peaceful resolution of the conflict, through talks, and non-acceptance of the notorious and counterproductive sanctions – are components of India’s position consonant with the stand taken by Russia, and, partly, by the EU itself, according to Russia.