RUSSIALINK: “Talks with Kyiv pointless, necessary to wait for reasonable Ukrainian leaders ready for equal ties with Russia – Medvedev” – Interfax

Dmitri Medvedev file photo

MOSCOW. Oct 11 (Interfax) – It is pointless to negotiate with the incumbent Ukrainian authorities, as they are not trustworthy; it is necessary to wait for the election of a reasonable leadership in Ukraine that would not aim at sweeping confrontation with Russia, verging on war, but would seek equal relations, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

“Another reason why relations with the incumbent leaders of Ukraine are pointless and even harmful is that the country is led by ignorant and unreliable people. They keep changing their stance to accommodate their masters from the overseas and the political circumstances,” Medvedev said in an article in the Kommersant newspaper.

This is how the Ukrainian authorities understand the art of diplomacy, Medvedev said. “Homegrown Talleyrands, they sign the Minsk Agreements, make deals in the Normandy format, but turn the other way around as soon as there is turbulence at the Rada or in the street, or they receive instructions form the overseas,” he said.

Compromises, certain deviations from a course are acceptable in politics, but a coordinated stance cannot be replaced with an opposite one, Medvedev said. “Instead, they are lying to us and our partners all the time and deviating from the approved decisions. This is not about a particular leader. This is the stance of all Ukrainian participants in the talks, their conduct, modus operandi,” Medvedev said.

There is no and cannot be trust in “partners who are constantly competing who lies best” in international relations, and “talks with them are absolutely pointless,” he said.

The question is what should be done under such circumstances, Medvedev said. “Nothing. Just wait for a reasonable administration in Ukraine that would not aim at sweeping confrontation with Russia, verging on war, organizing stupid Crimea Platforms that fool the population and flex the muscle before elections, but would seek equal and mutually beneficial relations with Russia,” Medvedev said.

That would be the Ukrainian leadership worth of dealing with, Medvedev said. “Russia is capable of waiting. We are patient people,” he said.

[article also appeared at interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/72852/]

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