MOSCOW, January 24. ITAR-TASS/. Moscow has called on the European Union not to interfere in Ukraine’s internal affairs or threaten it with sanctions, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s permanent representative to the European Union, said at the Moscow-Brussels video conference on Friday.
“Some Western, including European diplomats, visited the Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti). Though they did not serve out patty-cakes there, some ministers still delivered speeches when the EU flags and European integration slogans were dominating over the square,” Chizhov said.
“It would be too risky now for Western diplomats to appear on Maidan because red-black flags are waving there now. The situation looks totally different,” Chizhov said. He added that Russia and the European Union were concerned with the events.
European Commissioner Stefan Fule has left for Kiev, and EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton is expected to arrive in the Ukrainian capital soon, Chizhov went on to say.
“The task of those who want to preserve stability in such situations is not to interfere in the internal affairs of such countries or threaten them with sanctions but give them political support instead, let alone financial assistance which the European Union has refused to give to Ukraine though it had this opportunity,” Chizhov emphasized.