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G7 unwilling to discuss situation in Ukraine - senior lawmaker

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee said he was surprised at the “unreasonable reaction of the US and its devoted allies to Russia’s position on the Ukrainian issue”

MOSCOW, March 03. /ITAR-TASS/. News that Russia’s G8 partners have suspended preparations for the summit in Sochi, scheduled for June 4-5, showed them unwilling to join collective discussion of events in Ukraine, chairman of the Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Mikhail Margelov told journalists on Monday.

“The history of these summits has shown that it is now probably the best platform to resolve tough issues of global economy and politics,” he said, noting his surprise at the “unreasonable reaction of the US and its devoted allies to Russia’s position on the Ukrainian issue”.

“We hear threats of possible isolation of Russia, but the world is now complicated and multipolar," Margelov said. "It has many problems that necessitate Russia’s participation, so it will be the global community as a whole that will have to pay the price for Russia’s isolation.”

Meanwhile, he added, Russia was ready to discuss the situation in Ukraine under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operartion In Europe.

The G7 statement released on Sunday by the White House press office said leaders of Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France and Japan as well as heads of the European Council and the European Commission condemned Russia’s response to events in Ukraine and urged Russia to start direct negotiations with its neighbor state.