KIEV, August 9. /TASS/. A substantial number of countries maintain a pro-Russian stance or keep cooperating with Moscow despite the sanctions imposed by a number of Western countries, advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office Mikhail Podolyak said on Tuesday.

"We understand that the world is not a homogeneous place," he said. Some countries "have designated Russia as an aggressor and imposed very severe sanctions," he added. "However, two thirds of countries either remain neutral and keep business contacts with Russia or have even taken a pro-Russian stance," Podolyak said in an interview with the BBC’s Ukrainian service.

He assumed this was because "those countries have been Russia-oriented for quite a long time and have been earning some dividends there."