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Little chance of Kiev normalizing ties with Moscow, says Russian senior diplomat

Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin noted though that millions of people in Ukraine did not share the government’s approach towards relations with Russia

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Russia would like relations with Ukraine to return to normal, but developments in Kiev offer hardly any chance that this will happen, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told the International Affairs magazine.

"We would indeed like relations with Ukraine, our closest neighbor, with which we have long-standing spiritual, cultural and civilizational ties, to get back to normal," he said. "Unfortunately, what is going on there today leaves little chance for that."

Karasin noted though that millions of people in Ukraine did not share the government’s approach towards relations with Moscow. "People see what is going on, and they cannot be intimidated with bogeyman stories about an imaginary Russian threat," he went on to say. "What’s more, they are fully aware of the costs of Kiev’s policy aimed at terminating ties with Russia and say openly that Ukraine is headed in the wrong direction. It is hard to say now whether the Ukrainian leadership will draw the appropriate conclusions after the election.".