MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Close contacts of Russia and Ukraine are an important factor for sustainable development of the two states, so in the long run they are "doomed" to cooperate, speaker of the Russian Federation Council upper house of parliament Valentina Matviyenko said in an interview published by the Argumenty I Fakty (Arguments and Facts) newspaper on Friday.
According to her, those who are currently stirring up anti-Russian sentiment in Ukraine, pursue a "short-sighted and dangerous policy." "Historically, Russia and Ukraine are "doomed" to the very close cooperation. This is a crucial factor for sustainable development of our countries. Those who foment discord in Ukraine today between our peoples, are, in fact, acting against a decent future for their own country," she said. "Life has shown that it is possible, although not easy and not at once, to restore the economic, technological, financial, transportation links between the two countries. But restoring good-neighbourliness, friendship between the countries and peoples is not so easy. It’s a pity that Kiev does not understand this," she added.
The Federation Council speaker also said that Russia "is far from" the incitement of animosity towards the neighbouring nation. "We are strongly against any ‘tit-for-tat response’ in these spheres," she said. Despite the fact that the "anti-Russian propaganda influences the minds of a considerable part of the Ukrainian population, especially the youth," Matviyenko does not share the "categorical statements suggesting that a whole generation of Ukrainians has been poisoned by Russophobia." "The nature of relations between Russians and Ukrainians is based on the commonality of their historical, religious and cultural destinies. These relations are close, trust-based and respectful. And they have not disappeared anywhere and will never disappear," the upper house speaker said.
According to her, it’s regretful "that the contacts of the Russian and Ukrainian Parliament have been interrupted" and the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) did not respond to the Russian colleagues’ proposals "to restore relations, resume cooperation in one form or another." "In the current situation, our dialogue is especially necessary and important," Matviyenko said. "We have made a conciliatory gesture. We hope that sooner or later the Ukrainian parliamentarian, if they really care about their country, will understand that they cannot do without the dialogue with Russian parliamentarians," she said.