Russian Foreign Ministry believes that relations with Ukraine will eventually be restored
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has no doubts that Ukraine and Russia will eventually come to the restoration of full-fledged ties between the two countries and peoples. The Ministry made the statement on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of signing the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
"Concluding this treaty in 1997, the leaders of Russia and Ukraine were determined to have close cooperation and a deeper relationship. This significant agreement became the framework of our contractual-legal basis on which dozens of documents were signed in all areas of Russian-Ukrainian cooperation," the statement says.
"Unfortunately, the coup d'état in Kyiv in 2014 led to the fact that today our relations are far from the spirit and letter of the 1997 Treaty’s. However, the very existence of this document guarantees a foundation for the revival of bilateral relations," the Foreign Ministry added.
Russia declares that it is open to constructive dialogue and to mutually beneficial cooperation "despite the undisguised, unfriendly steps of the current Kyiv authorities."
"We have no doubt that sooner or later we will need to restore full-fledged ties between our countries and peoples," the ministry announced.