Russia will not intervene in Ukraine, Putin press secretary says

Russia will not interfere in the internal affairs of Ukraine, says President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson.

Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow is monitoring the events in Ukraine with huge attention.

Russia is confident that Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych would find the best solution for bringing the situation back to normal, Peskov stated.

In his interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda daily, Peskov criticized the foreign interference in Ukraine by the West, saying, “It is hard to comprehend why foreign ambassadors in Kiev should tell the Ukrainian authorities where these should withdraw their Interior Ministry troops and police from, what they should do next etc.”

“We see these kinds of outside instructions as something altogether incomprehensible.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has slammed Europe and the United States for meddling in the internal affairs of Ukraine.

In December, several top Western officials, including EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland visited the opposition protest camp in the capital city of Kiev.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian opposition leaders issued an ultimatum for President Yanukovych to call early elections within 24 hours or face more protests.

Ukraine has been rocked by anti-government protests after Yanukovych refrained from signing a trade agreement with the European Union at the third Eastern Partnership Summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on November 29, 2013.

Kiev refused to sign the Association Agreement after EU leaders called on Ukraine to allow jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to travel overseas for medical treatment.