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Ukraine can revive national unity by ending efforts to curry favor with West, senator says

Kiev should place its stake on a dialogue inside the country, the parliamentarian believes

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. The Ukrainian authorities will be able to restore the country’s unity and territorial integrity if they stop currying favor with the West and begin a dialogue within the country, Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Konstantin Kosachev has told TASS.

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"The Ukrainian authorities will be able to revive national unity and restore territorial integrity, if it is still possible, only by radically changing the current policy of currying favor with the West and by placing its stake on a dialogue inside the country and on real international partners, and not the current ones," he said, commenting on a statement by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about Western countries’ and NATO’s support for Kiev.

The senator drew attention to the Ukrainian leader’s remark that Kiev was not afraid because it had strong support from international partners. "According to a Freudian analysis, this is the essence of the current policy of the leadership in Kiev. In reality, any government should be concerned about having the support of its own population, first and foremost, and should act as a leading force uniting the nation, even if the nation is diverse in terms of its geographic, social, ethnic or confessional criteria. Zelensky and his team, on the contrary, are trying to drive a significant part of the Ukrainian people, sometimes with the threat of repression and sometimes with tanks, into the supposedly common space of a country, which is actually facing its deepest divide," he emphasized.

Zelensky earlier said in his video address that Western countries and NATO supported Ukraine and were ready to provide financial assistance and impose tougher sanctions against Russia along with tougher resolutions. At the same time, he noted that this would not be enough for Kiev, and Ukraine "may need decisiveness." According to Zelensky, the citizens of his country "need clear signals" from the West about its willingness to provide support for Ukraine not just as a partner, but "as a player on the same team."

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