UNITED NATIONS, March 1. /TASS/. It is important to put an end to the crisis in Ukraine and for the purpose demands should be made to Kiev to take practical steps on the Complex of Measures for Implementation of the Minsk Accords, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin said at a meeting of the UN Security Council that discussed the operations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
"Since the Complex of Measures has been signed and coordinated at the top level, it's important to demand that Kiev implement it," Churkin said. He believes that if Kiev takes practical steps on the Minsk accords, then Ukraine will move forward in the struggle with corruption and in the economic reforms as well.
"Quite naturally, one would be overly optimistic to expect progress in these areas amid the ongoing conflict," he said. "Kiev has interest in the full implementation of the Complex of Measures, in the first place, in the same way Russia has interest in it."
"It's time to and end to this crisis," Churkin said. "Generally speaking, had it not been for the perilous policy of the spheres of influence and the U.S. representative spoke of it critically today, too this crisis wouldn't have occurred."
He mentioned a remark by the U.S. Deputy Ambassador, David Pressman, who had pointed out the risks of a return to division of the spheres of influence in eastern Europe.
"I fully agree with the viewpoint and I see covert criticism of the policy of NATO's eastwards expansionism in it, as well as criticism of the EU's manner of formulating the policy of eastern partnership, which put the target countries in the face of an unconditional choice, either with the West or with the East." Churkin said
The crisis in Ukraine broke out exactly because the EU had issued a de facto ultimatum to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich for an immediate signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the EU, he went on. "That's why a return to the policy based on the spheres of influence would have exceptionally detrimental aftereffects on European security," said Churkin who took the floor twice to rebuff the accusations against Russia.
He said it was saddening the OSCE was not always implementing the precepts that had been put into it during its foundation and it frequently acted in the vein of geopolitical idealism and narrow thinking.