Russia did not intend to "send a message" to Washington when it withdrew troops from the border with Ukraine. Negotiations within Ukraine are more important for Moscow at the moment, than the views of the Obama administration, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
"It was not a signal to Washington. It was an internal decision of the Russian Federation. It can be interpreted in many way, but it was not a signal at all," Medvedev said in an interview with CNBC.
Dmitry Medvedev stressed out that one should not interpret every action of Moscow as a signal to Washington. "We do not want anything from President Obama. It is only the American people who may want something from President Obama. It is the American people, who elected President Obama, not the Russian people. He is responsible to the American people, rather than to Russian leaders or the Russian people," he said.
According to Medvedev, one should distinguish between political phraseology and real life. "Real life comprises the following: we are deeply concerned about what has been happening in Ukraine. We would like the civil war that was unleashed after the coup in the beginning of this year to end, so that Ukraine could develop quietly and steadily," said the head of the Russian government.
Resetting the US-Russian relations is impossible at the moment, Medvedev said, even if the West lifts sanctions against Russia in the near future. "After some time, the sanctions will evaporate, but the fact that they have caused damage to our relations will remain, there's no doubt about that," he said.
The Prime Minister admitted he was "very sad" about the fact that President Barack Obama, speaking at the United Nations, put Russia on the list of global threats between Ebola fever and the Islamic State. "I do not even want to comment on that, this is sad, this is some kind of aberration in the brain. What can be said about resetting the relations in such a context?" Medvedev asked.
"We need to paddle away from all that and return to a normal position, before we can discuss how we could develop our relations in the future," said the head of the Russian government. Medvedev stressed out that Russia was not closing its doors to anyone. "We want to communicate constructively and amicably with all civilized nations, but one needs to even out the situation first."
The Russian prime minister also said that Ukraine was fully responsible for the tragedy with the Malaysian Boeing, as the country is responsible for "all flight accidents that occur in its airspace." According to him, Kiev should have changed flight maps. "They did not do it, and this is a grave offense in terms of international aviation law," said Medvedev.
Medvedev strongly dismissed all accusations against Russia in this respect. "I do not know what happened, I say it again: this is a question to experts. I only want to say that this is a disastrous, terrible accident, a tragedy. But it is up to experts to conduct the investigation and hearings. No one has the right to blame any party for that. Russia has nothing to do with it," he said.
During the interview, Dmitry Medvedev promised that his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott would have a "robust conversation" with Russian President and judoist Vladimir Putin.
Abbott told reporters this week that during the G20 summit in Australia, he would shirt-front Putin. Later, the Australian leader explained that his words should not be taken literally.
"If he likes to use sports terms in his speech, he is welcome. Mr. Putin is a very advanced man when it comes to sports, and I think that they could have a very powerful discussion. But generally, any serious politician should be careful about what he says," said Medvedev.
Pravda.Ru