Updated on 09:05 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) – The West needs to understand that it cannot support those in Kiev who are putting the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in question with their statements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
“Those who are currently standing on the warpath supporting radical warring elements in Kiev take a huge responsibility upon themselves, including not only the continuation of bloodshed, but also for their attempts to call to doubt the legitimate actions of the current Ukrainian president. I hope Washington and other capitals, who are literally high on anti-Russian rhetoric today, will understand,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev.
On Tuesday, Lavrov stressed that only the United States could influence the part of the Ukrainian establishment which wants to continue using military methods in the internal conflict and urged Washington to do it.
“Right now the main goal is the necessity to bring the ‘war party’ in Kiev to reason and only one who can actually do this is the US. Washington has a huge influence on Ukraine’s military authorities, and there are lots of facts [to back this up],” the minister stressed.
Late August, Russian and Ukrainian leaders agreed on a need for dialogue in order to put an end to the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russian president Vladimir Putin voiced his seven-point peace plan for Ukraine, which includes stopping all offensive operations and moving the Ukrainian army away from the conflict zone making artillery strikes impossible.
Ukraine launched a special operation against the pro-independence forces of the country’s eastern regions in mid-April. According to UN estimates, fighting has killed over 2,500 people and injured over 6,000.
