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On Friday, Russia criticized the EU for adopting new sanctions against it despite the week-old ceasefire agreement between separatist forces and Ukraine.
“We believe that adopting such decisions at the very moment when the peace process in Ukraine is gaining strength — we are hoping — … this means choosing a path towards undermining the peace process”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said from the city of Dushanbe – Lavrov was attending a security summit in the capital city of Tajikistan.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s parliamentary speaker dismissed the US sanctions on Moscow as “disconnected from reality”, and said that the Ukrainian crisis was an excuse for the US to drum up tensions with Russia.
“The sanctions announced by President (Barack) Obama are already disconnected from reality”, several Russian news agencies reported Speaker of Parliament Sergei Naryshkin saying.
“For them, the most difficult internal Ukrainian conflict, crisis, confrontation is just a pretext — this is obvious. If it did not happen they would find another (excuse). This is sad but true”, Naryshkin said.
He also warned that the sanctions may hamper the fragile ceasefire between Kremlin-backed separatists and Ukraine.
“What are they thinking?” he said.
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, warned that the ceasefire was not good enough to achieve permanent peace and criticized Russia for its “unacceptable behavior” in Ukraine.
After speaking with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Jiev, Barroso said that the truce “is certainly a positive step which needs to be upheld and respected”.
“However, it is still insufficient to guarantee sustainable peace. While we are committed to reaching out and seeking a negotiated solution, we also do not hesitate in responding decisively to Russia’s unacceptable behavior”, he added.
He also said that the sanctions against state-run banks, weapons manufacturers and oil companies were aimed at “bringing Russia to the conclusion that it is better to have positive, constructive relations with both Ukraine and the European Union.”
“They also mean that the European Union and its member states stand by Ukraine”, he said.