MOSCOW, December 18. /ITAR-TASS/. Financial aid that Russia has extended to Ukraine is not charity but, rather, a carefully weighted political decision based on the norms of international and Russian legislation, Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the upper house of Russian parliament told reporters Wednesday.
She said Russia and Ukraine would continue developing bilateral cooperation regardless of what kind of choice Ukraine would make in the future.
“I’m absolutely confident that Russia and Ukraine are two sisterly nations and states and Russia will continue collaborating with Ukraine in the economy and other spheres,” Matviyenko said adding that Ukraine was a strategic partner.
“We know Ukraine has been going through a very knotty economic and political situation of late and Russia in this case lent its shoulder to a fraternal people without putting forward any preconditions,” she said.
The monies to be issued “will stabilize the economic situation and, on top of that, will open up new horizons for our cooperation,” Matviyenko said.
She especially called attention to the character of aid, saying it fully complied with effective international norms of law.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said upon the outcome of talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in the Kremlin Tuesday that Russia would invest $ 15 billion from the National Well-Being Fund in the Ukrainian government securities.
If measured in Russian rubles, the amount is equivalent of RUB 495 billion.