KALININGRAD, June 6. /TASS/. If Kiev introduces visas for Russians, Moscow will respond with proportionate measures to introduce visas for Ukrainian citizens, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a student audience at the Kant Baltic Federal University on Tuesday.
"When one country fans confrontation with another, the people of that country begin to feel caution about those behind such a confrontation. Ordinary people are not to blame," Lavrov said. "We are against using labor migration for attaining geopolitical aims. We are against any aspects of these relations being used for this."
Lavrov recalled that a large number of Ukrainian migrants, about 2-3 million of them were currently in Russia.
"When in Ukraine we are accused of all mortal sins, when excuses are invented for the plotters who overthrew a legal president, when we are exposed to torrents of filth, when Russian performing artists and cultural workers are declared personas non grata, when the possibility of visas for Russians is discussed… What do you think, should we leave that unnoticed and unretaliated?" Lavrov asked.
"We don’t keep any black lists of Ukrainians, except for very few cases," Lavrov said. "But if Ukraine introduces visas, we will respond with visas, too."
He believes that ordinary Ukrainians "should not stay quiet, but say aloud they are Ukrainian citizens who have their own interests."
"May they demand a sensible policy, and not continued fanning up of animosity," Lavrov concluded.