DAVOS
The West is prolonging the Ukraine conflict through its unfair treatment towards Russia, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister has said.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos on Friday, Igor Shuvalov said: “The West wants to put Russia in its place - the West says to Russia; ‘Go to your corner. We will teach you through our sanctions'."
Shuvalov said the strategy was the biggest obstacle to achieving peace in Ukraine.
"The West does not treat Russia as an equal partner, and this will make the conflict in Ukraine a bleeding wound for decades," he added.
The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists signed a cease-fire agreement in Minsk on Sept. 5, but both sides have violated it.
At least 1,363 people have been killed in the conflict since the September 2014 deal.
More than 4,800 people have been killed since April last year, after pro-Russian rebels seized parts of Luhansk and Donetsk.
