BRUSSELS, May 14 (RIA Novosti) – The European Union should call on Kiev rather than on Moscow to de-escalate the Ukrainian crisis, Russia’s deputy envoy to the EU said Wednesday.
The domestic conflict in Ukraine was triggered by the EU and US, but is now billed as Moscow’s plan, Alexander Krestyanov said.
Krestyanov believes that responsibility should lie with Kiev, which has been using the army and heavy military equipment to crack down on the protest movement.
The leaders of the G7 group of nations have been continuously threatening Russia with broad sanctions against key sectors of the country’s economy in the event of a further escalation in the Ukrainian crisis.
Since March, the US and EU have imposed targeted sanctions against Russian officials, freezing their assets and banning them from obtaining visas, as well as against 17 Russian companies.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that the language of sanctions is “inappropriate and counterproductive” and warned its Western partners about the “boomerang effect” that sanctions would have.
