MOSCOW. Jan 21 (Interfax) - Russia is doing everything it can to prevent a split in Ukraine and is calling on the sides in this conflict to launch dialogue and resolve the crisis without any foreign interference.
"I would not want to support any provocative talk about a split in Ukraine. We are doing everything we can to help prevent this and help stabilize the situation, and we will continue to do so," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
Ukraine is "our [Russia's] neighbor, our partner, our friend, our brother, and there is no room for two opinions in this matter," he said.
"Internal problems of any states, including Ukraine, should be tackled through dialogue, in accordance with the constitution and without any external interference," the Russian minister said.
Lavrov also criticized some EU countries' approach to this internal conflict in Ukraine.
"I do not know who is holding a grudge in the European Union against us in connection with the events in Ukraine and why. We would prefer it if some of our European colleagues refrained from behaving so unceremoniously over the Ukrainian crisis, when members of several European governments hurried to Maidan without any invitation and took part in anti-government demonstrations in the country with which they have diplomatic relations," Lavrov said.
"This is simply inappropriate," he said.