Europe was not even close to understand how divided Ukraine was culturally

Photo: AP photo

Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany, Sigmar Gabriel, told reporters that, in his opinion, the European Union was acting unreasonably in relation to Ukraine and contributed to the exacerbation of the internal conflict in the country.

"Of course, it was unwise to create an impression in Ukraine that the country had to choose between Russia and the EU," he said.

Nevertheless, Gabriel, like many other leading politicians in Germany and the EU, continues to insist that Russia is responsible for "pushing Ukraine to chaos."

"Certainly, the EU also made ​​a mistake, but that does not justify Russia's behavior," said Sigmar Gabriel.

Meanwhile, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged the interim government of Ukraine not to follow the path of escalation, but take every opportunity to resolve the crisis peacefully. Schroeder always insisted the West should not impose sanctions against Russia and urged Germany not to be led by the U.S., but to contribute to Russia's relations with foreign partners instead.

Gerhard Schroeder also criticized the policy of the European Union, which put Ukraine before the choice - either Russia or the EU. According to him, Brussels "was not even close to understand how divided Ukraine was culturally, and that one should not act like that with such a country."