MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Russia's Foreign Ministry has expressed surprise and regret with decisions taken by the European Foreign Affairs Council over developments in Ukraine. The ministry said on Friday:

"The European Union keeps pursuing consistently a course for further exacerbation of all the same tense ties with Russia. Brussels’ one-sided interpretation of the situation in the Ukrainian domestic conflict strips it of the very opportunity to act as ‘an unbiased broker’.

We are surprised with how hastily the European Foreign Affairs Council took its decisions yesterday. It is regretful that the European Council turned out once again to be hostage to an aggressive minority for which the Ukrainian crisis gives just a pretext for imposing Russophobic approaches and counteracting good partnership between Russia and the EU.

As for Russia, our concrete initiatives for Ukrainian crisis settlement and for putting the European process back on a constructive track remain in effect. It is high time for the EU to ponder a sanctions standoff as being unpromising and only harmful to the people and economies of our countries."