02:40Russia: We will not suspend relations with Ukraine - Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Russian Security Council in Sevastopol, Friday, following the recently foiled attacks planned on the territory of Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence services.
"It seems like our partners in Kiev decided to exacerbate the situation. It is clear why they are doing so - because they don't want or cannot, for whatever reasons, fulfill the Minsk agreements and secondly, they cannot explain to their own people the significant mistakes in socio-economic policy," Putin stated.
He continued, "such method of exacerbation of the situation is well-known and has been used for many years, sometimes successfully, but not always. I still hope that this won't be the final choice of our partners and that common sense will prevail."
However, Putin stated that Russia is not going to suspend relations with Ukraine. "Despite the reluctance of the current authorities in Kiev to have full diplomatic ties at ambassadorial level, nevertheless we will provide opportunities for maintaining and developing our contacts," he explained.
02:40Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Russian Security Council in Sevastopol, Friday, following the recently foiled attacks planned on the territory of Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence services.
"It seems like our partners in Kiev decided to exacerbate the situation. It is clear why they are doing so - because they don't want or cannot, for whatever reasons, fulfill the Minsk agreements and secondly, they cannot explain to their own people the significant mistakes in socio-economic policy," Putin stated.
He continued, "such method of exacerbation of the situation is well-known and has been used for many years, sometimes successfully, but not always. I still hope that this won't be the final choice of our partners and that common sense will prevail."
However, Putin stated that Russia is not going to suspend relations with Ukraine. "Despite the reluctance of the current authorities in Kiev to have full diplomatic ties at ambassadorial level, nevertheless we will provide opportunities for maintaining and developing our contacts," he explained.