19 August 2016, 12:44 GMT
BELBEK AIRPORT (Sputnik) – On August 10, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had dismantled a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, which was preparing acts of sabotage on "critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure."
"We are not going to curtail our relations. Despite the reluctance of current Kiev authorities to have full diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, we will create opportunities to develop contacts and support them," Putin said at a Russian Security Council briefing in Crimea.
"I hope that [Ukraine’s provocations] will not be the final choice of our partners and common sense will prevail," Putin underscored.
Ukraine previously declined to accredit Russia's newly proposed candidate for ambassador, saying it was satisfied with the current charge d'affairs-level representation.
