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Minsk summit shows Kiev policy to confront Moscow unjustified — Pushkov

Head of Russia’s State Duma international affairs committee Alexei Pushkov says the Minsk summit showed the policy to boycott Russia was absolutely invalid

Left to right: leaders of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, European Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht at the summit in Minsk EPA/MAKSIM GUCHEK / POOL

Left to right: leaders of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, European Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht at the summit in Minsk

© EPA/MAKSIM GUCHEK / POOL

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Putin: Ukraine crisis can’t be solved by military force

MOSCOW, August 27. /ITAR-TASS/. The Minsk summit between presidents of Russia and Ukraine Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko showed that Kiev's policy seeking total confrontation with Moscow had not been justified, the head of Russia’s State Duma international affairs committee Alexei Pushkov told ITAR-TASS on Wednesday.

“I believe that talks in Minsk showed the policy Ukraine's leadership had taken up at the beginning of this summer particularly to halt gas talks with Russia, blocking a reasonable agreement on the issue, a course for breaking trade and economic ties with Russia and total confrontation with Russia at international forums, was not justified,” said Pushkov.

“The Minsk summit also showed that a policy to boycott Russia and build a Ukraine which would not deal with Russia any longer was absolutely invalid,” he added.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had pursued this policy emphatically, Pushkov said. “I believe that Ukraine's leadership should primarily 'thank' Yatsenyuk for several problems they had,” he said.

“As Yatsenyuk disrupts gas talks, apparently upon an agreement with the US administration, Poroshenko now starts speaking about the resumption of gas talks,” Pushkov added.

“Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine should sever all trade ties with Russia... and now Poroshenko said in Minsk that breaking these ties is unprofitable for Ukraine,” he said.

“We witness that for the last three months, the situation has changed so that a policy for a full standoff between Ukraine and Russia and confrontation with Russia was dropped. This, to my mind, is the main conclusion which can be drawn from these talks,” Pushkov added.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy Ukraine Alexey Pushkov Pyotr Poroshenko Arseniy Yatsenyuk

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