Russian lawmaker says US, Europe differ in approaches to Ukraine settlement

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. The United States and Europe are growing more divergent on approaches to the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the international committee of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house, said on Tuesday after a meeting with German Ambassador to Russia Rüdiger Freiherr von Fritsch.

"It is not yet a split. Anyway, it looks like no one is admitting any split and probably doesn’t want to do that," he said, adding that United States President Barack Obama and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel were still trying to demonstrate their unity. "But this unity is more and more reduced to words, declarations and less and less expands to joint project," he said.

The United States and Europe "preserve unity in assessment of what is going on in Ukraine but are drifting further and further apart in understanding of how to settle this situation," the Russian lawmaker said. "The Americans are obviously in favour of a force approach, while Europeans are tending in favor of a political approach," whereas a year ago they too were in favor of the use of force. "But Europe has managed to stop before the red line," he stressed.

Kosachev said he is sure the gap in the positions of the United States and the European Union would only grow wider "if the Americans don’t stop using this situation to isolate and weaken Russia." He also did not rule out the United States would exert pressure on Europe. "The Americans have many instruments to make their arguments cogent in respect of Europe," he noted. "But such arguments are evidently of political, not force nature.".