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International blackmail against Russia beyond all reason — Duma speaker

MOSCOW, September 29. /ITAR-TASS/. International blackmail against Russia over Ukraine 'has gone beyond all possible reason”, Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin said in a letter to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) president on Monday.

“Russia has never been a part in the conflict inside Ukraine,” the politician said in his message to PACE President Anne Brasseur.

“At the same time, the Kiev authorities who have committed numerous crimes, don’t come under sanctions or at least verbal criticism by European politicians,” he said, referring to recently found mass graves and the Odessa massacre in May 2014.

Sanctions against Russia “have been imposed all this time bypassing decisions of the United Nations and World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, in defiance of common sense and absolutely out of alignment with the course of the conflict settlement in Ukraine”, the top parliamentarian said.

At the same time, “European leaders are demonstrating such miracles of forbearance towards the Kiev regime that it seems today’s Ukraine should soon become an example for any ‘old’ democracy in Europe,” he said.

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Foreign policy Ukraine PACE Sergey Naryshkin

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