Russia 'willing' to co-op with new Ukrainian parliament

MOSCOW -- Russia is ready to cooperate with Ukraine's new parliament in the interests of both states and peoples, a top legislator said Wednesday.

"Today making this sort of claims - that Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) is pro-European and not pro-Russian - is inexpedient because it leads to confrontation," Valentina Matviyenko, chairperson of Russia's Federal Council, upper house of the parliament, told reporters. "The Ukrainian people have made their choice, but it does not preclude us from establishing and continuing a dialogue and mutually advantageous cooperation in all areas."

The upcoming parliamentary coalition, Matviyenko said, should exercise "peaceful instead of martial" policies, and spare no effort to solve the ongoing political and economic crisis.

Also, she slammed remarks of some European Union (EU) politicians who warned of extended sanctions on Moscow until next spring, calling the claims a tool to exercise pressure.

"We will continue the dialogue, and I hope common sense will prevail and we will go over to cooperation without sanctions," Matviyenko said, adding that the EU sanctions contradicted the rules of the World Trade Organization and are illegal.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday Moscow will recognize the results of Ukraine's early parliamentary elections, but stressed the new government should launch a broad nationwide dialogue and carry out substantial constitutional reform.

The eighth Ukrainian parliamentary elections, which were held Sunday, were conducted under a mixed system, with 225 members of parliament elected on party lists and the remaining 225 on single- seat constituencies.

As the elections were not held in 27 constituencies, including 12 in Crimea, only 198 lawmakers would be elected in the single- seat constituencies. There were no immediate reports about winners in the single-seat constituencies across Ukraine.

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