Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has described the recent visits of European Union officials to restive Ukraine as "crude interference" in the internal politics of Russia's neighbor.
Medvedev said the appearance of EU officials at pro-EU demonstrations in Kyiv "cannot be called anything else but crude interference in [the affairs of] a sovereign state."
Medvedev said the pubic protests that erupted after the Ukrainian government refused to sign a key trade deal with the EU in favor of strengthening trade ties with Russia was a matter only the Ukrainian people could resolve.
Medvedev said that "Ukrainian society will have to overcome a tectonic split that has formed" in the country.
Medvedev said the "split" threatened Ukraine's stability and even "its existence" and added Russia was naturally "greatly alarmed."
Medvedev said the appearance of EU officials at pro-EU demonstrations in Kyiv "cannot be called anything else but crude interference in [the affairs of] a sovereign state."
Medvedev said the pubic protests that erupted after the Ukrainian government refused to sign a key trade deal with the EU in favor of strengthening trade ties with Russia was a matter only the Ukrainian people could resolve.
Medvedev said that "Ukrainian society will have to overcome a tectonic split that has formed" in the country.
Medvedev said the "split" threatened Ukraine's stability and even "its existence" and added Russia was naturally "greatly alarmed."