You're reading: European diplomat: EU, Russia should help Ukraine remain unified state

The European Union and Russia should help Ukraine overcome the political and economic crisis together, Head of the EU Delegation to Russia Vygaudas Usackas told Interfax in commenting on Crimean Prime Minister Serhiy Aksionov's decision to put all security and law enforcement agencies in Crimea under his personal control.

“I hope our leaders will display enough political maturity and political wisdom. In fact, we, the European Union and the Russian Federation, share the interest of seeing Ukraine as a stable, trouble-free, and unified state,” Usackas said.

The EU and Russia “will promote this goal for the common interest of the Ukrainian citizens themselves and, as it seems to me, for the common interest of Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union,” he said.

The EU and Russia should also facilitate “an inclusive political dialogue in Ukraine and the rendering of essential financial assistance to the Ukrainian economy,” Usackas said.