MOSCOW. May 8 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as groundless the claims that Moscow holds the key to resolving the Ukrainian crisis.
"As for the key to resolving the problem being in Russia - it is a ploy of our Western partners which has no grounds to it," he said at a press conference following his meeting with OSCE Chairman-in-Office Didier Burkhalter.
"As soon as our colleagues in Europe or the USA drive one situation or another into a blind alley, they always say that now the key to resolving the problem lies in the hands of Moscow and it bears the entire responsibility," the Russian leader added.
The president stressed that the responsibility for the current situation lies on the people "who unconstitutionally seized power, staged a coup d'etat and those who supported these actions, those who supplied these actions with financial, political backing, information support and other means."
"And drove things to the tragedy that occurred in Odesa. Blood turns to ice watching this footage," Putin said.
He added that Russia is ready to take all necessary steps, to do everything to resolve the current situation in Ukraine.