MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the United States Tuesday of not living up to the Geneva accords amid growing accusations that Moscow has not acted to defuse tensions in Ukraine.
“The problem is that the authorities in Kiev and their sponsors – or shall I call them ‘puppeteers’ – in Washington and some European capitals, don’t follow through on the [Geneva] communique and implement [its provisions],” Ryabkov told the online news service Gazeta.ru.
US President Barack Obama said earlier this week the Kremlin had “not lifted a finger” to implement the agreement reached in Geneva earlier this month.
“They have accused us of allegedly doing not enough, while at the same time they have been unable to present any convincing evidence that the Geneva accords have been enacted,” the Russian official added.
“We cannot let protesters in Ukraine’s south and southeast be the only target for political pressure and criticism, as though nothing that could have forced these people to react in such an extreme way ever existed,” he said.
“It’s high time you started to prepare a normal, inclusive political process that would help implement a constitutional reform in Ukraine. It will serve as a basis for further elections, referendums and whatever,” Ryankov stressed.
Top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the US and the EU met in Geneva on April 17 to urge the sides in Ukraine to refrain from violence, disarm militants and launch a national dialogue on constitutional reform. Despite Kiev’s promises to lay down arms, attacks on pro-federalization protesters continued.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said Washington cited “incredible arguments” to justify Kiev’s failure to comply with the Geneva agreements on Ukraine.
Federalization supporters in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Gorlovka, Slaviansk and Kramatorsk have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government and are urging interim authorities to hold referendums similar to the one held in Crimea last month, which led to the republic’s reunification with Russia.
