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US won’t let Ukraine mend ties with Russia, even if Kiev wants — Russian MP

It was also stressed that current Ukrainian government is unable to make independent decisions

MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. The United States won’t let the Ukrainian authorities to normalize ties with Russia, even if Kiev would want to take this path, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Wednesday.

"The main problem in our relations with Ukraine, as I see it, is that Kiev is not independent in its foreign and domestic policies. The Kiev authorities are directed by Washington. And the adversarial relationship with Russia is the price that Ukraine has to pay for US patronage," the speaker of the Russian parliament’s upper house said in an interview with Russia’s Parlamentskaya Gazeta.

"But even if Kiev would like to take the path of normalizing our ties, the United States would hardly let this happen. There should be no illusions about that. Naturally, this situation is not conductive to Donbass reconciliation and improvement of Russian-Ukrainian ties. So far, there is simply no one in the Ukrainian leadership to engage in a productive dialogue with us," she added.

According to the senator, the current Ukrainian government is unable to make independent decisions, especially when it comes to implementing its foreign policy obligations.

"In many aspects, ‘street elements’, such as extremists, Russophobes, nationalists, and neo-Nazis - determine the present-day political life of Ukraine. Which, undoubtedly, makes the situation in the country unpredictable, while state governance becomes difficult," Matviyenko said.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Valentina Matviyenko

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