MOSCOW, August 29. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia urges the Ukrainian parties and Western partners to show goodwill towards solving problems exclusively by peaceful means, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
“This is the only way whether the West really advocates the interests of obedient Ukrainian politicians, the Ukrainian multinational people and the Ukrainian state, the future of which can and should be ensured by searching for nationwide accord,” the ministry said.
“When we hear fabrications about Russia’s aggression and incursions by troops and armored vehicles are put forward in discussions on the Ukrainian crisis, several serious questions inevitably arise,” the ministry said.
“Why those who insist on immediately convening a session of the UN Security Council consistently blocked our proposals to discuss the origin of the Ukrainian tragedy and work out a joint decision to meet the interests of the Ukrainian people and not to implement any unilateral geopolitical plans? Why our partners in the UN Security Council, the OSCE and other international forums consistently refuse to condemn air and artillery strikes on cities and settlements that destroy residential areas, schools, kindergartens, Orthodox churches and kill civilians?” the ministry said.
“In any other conflict whether it be in the Middle East, Africa or anywhere else, the West steadily comes against actions that cause damage to civilians and demands to stop them. But it pursues an opposite policy in violation of the norms of international humanitarian law in south-eastern Ukraine,” it said.
“Russia will consistently do its best to create conditions for resolving the crisis in negotiations through strengthening confidence-building measures between the conflicting parties and taking concrete measures to deescalate the situation and assist civilians,” the ministry said.
Moscow also urged the Ukrainian authorities to stop exterminating their own people, the Foreign Ministry said.
South-eastern regions of Ukraine have been gripped by violence and continuing fighting between militias and government troops for several months, with thousands of people fleeing their homes to other regions and neighboring Russia, and hundreds killed and injured.
The Foreign Ministry welcomed the fact that human rights observers “have urged Kiev to stop the fighting and violence in the east of the country immediately”.
“Unfortunately, this happened after thousands of civilians were killed… but we hope that the Ukrainian authorities will follow this recommendation and will stop systematically exterminating their own people,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.