Moscow - The large-scale domestic political crisis in Ukraine has shown serious differences between the southeast and west of the country in regard to choosing further development vectors, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
“This shows that the state structure previously chosen by Kyiv is unstable. Essentially, the unitary state stopped functioning in Ukraine. Its bases were undermined by a series of political convulsions, which shook the country for many years. One of the main reasons for this situation is a lack of a balanced constitution in Ukraine, which would adequately take into account interests of all ethnic and language groups and ensure rights and interests of all Ukrainian citizens,” the Russian Foreign Ministry posted a statement on Wednesday quoting Lavrov as saying in response to a question of Argumenty i Fakty (Arguments and Facts) newspaper.
“The situations when the constitution was changed following each presidential election in the country and was used to reflect the wishes of the rulers at that time, they can not be recognized as normal,” Lavrov said. “That is why federalization is the path towards each region feeling comfortable and feeling that its rights are ensured and traditions and familiar way of life are protected,” the minister said.
“All this should be reflected in the constitution. I am certain that without this Ukraine will have difficulties to maintain unity and resolve existing urgent tasks on overcoming the current serious crisis,” Lavrov said.
“Of course, no one can impose a scheme of state structure onto Ukraine. But Ukrainians should start a dialog ensuring its comprehensive and universal character. It concerns that all regions and political forces of Ukraine without an exception should participate in it equally and have equal rights in resolving pressing issues,” the minister said.
