There may be three of us

President Vladimir Putin asked the EU leaders to refrain from sharp statements about the situation with the decision of Ukraine to suspend the conclusion of an agreement with the EU on associated membership, RIA Novosti reports.

"I would ask our friends in Brussels, my personal friends of good in the European Commission to refrain from sharp expressions. What do we need to like, we need to strangle the entire industries of our economy?" -Putin said at a press conference following the results of Russian-Italian negotiations.

Moscow will respect any decision of Kyiv - to remain in the free trade zone with Russia or sign an agreement with the European Union, the president noted. "The choice is with whom to sign an agreement on the free trade zone, whether to stay in the free trade zone with Russia is a sovereign choice of Ukraine itself. And we will without any doubt respect this choice, whatever it may be," Putin said.

The President again made a proposal to discuss this topic in the tripartite format of Ukraine-Cossius.

Putin also said that Russia did not discuss with Ukraine the possibility of reviewing a gas contract. “We have a contract, Gazprom’s, and“ NAC of Ukraine ”, in my opinion, has been signed until 2019. And we did not even discuss the possibility of revising the contract itself,” the president said.

According to Putin, Russia did not receive more than $ 10 billion due to gas discounts provided to Ukraine in exchange for extending the stay of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia in Crimea. The total debt of Ukrainian companies to Russian credit organizations is $ 28 billion, the president noted. Russia will work with Ukraine to resolve this debt, as well as on gas debts, regardless of Kyiv’s decision on European integration, he said.

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry distributed a comment in which he accused the EU of pressure on Ukraine after its refusal of its government to continue the process of European integration. “At the same time, the EU cannot but be aware that such an intervention in the internal affairs of the sovereign state incites the opposition part of the Ukrainian society to protest and illegal actions against the legitimate Ukrainian authorities,” the commentary says.

Earlier on Tuesday, Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the reproaches of the EU leaders against Russia regarding the pressure on Ukraine on signing an agreement on associated membership were deprived of grounds .

On the eve of the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barrosa and the President of the Council of the European Union Herman van Rompey made a joint statement. In it, they criticized the position of Russia , which, in their opinion, exert pressure on Ukraine on the issue of association with the EU. Barrosa and Van Rompey emphasized that Brussels will not force Ukraine, or any other partner, to choose between the European Union and any other regional factor. Kyiv, according to them, must freely decide what kind of relationship he wants to have with the European Union. But citizens of Ukraine, the EU leaders are convinced, again demonstrated these days that they fully understand and welcome the historical character of the European association. “Therefore, we express a decisive disapproval of the position and actions of Russia in this connection,” they emphasized in their statement.

On November 21, the Ukrainian government ordered to suspend the process of preparing for the conclusion of an agreement on the Association between Ukraine and the EU. This led to numerous protests throughout the country. In Kyiv, an unlimited round -the -clock action takes place on European Square. In her course, there were repeated clashes with the police with the use of tear gas on both sides. However, in general, law enforcement officers do not interfere with the rally.

Night on November 27. Photo by Lyudmila Barkova:

Night on November 26. Video Lyudmila Barkova:

Euromaidan: Night confrontation

Watch YouTube on Monday Yulia Tymoshenko announced an indefinite hunger strike with the requirement to sign an agreement on the Association of Ukraine with the European Union. The letter of the ex-prime minister from the scene of European square in Kyiv was read out by her lawyer Sergey Vlasenko. In her statement, Tymoshenko emphasized that she was proud that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians entered the Euromaidans in Ukraine and around the world. "As a sign of unity and solidarity with everyone who is now fighting for all the Euro -Maidans in Ukraine and in the world, I declare an indefinite hunger strike with a demand to Yanukovych to sign an association agreement and a free trade zone with the EU," she said.

Earlier on Monday, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych made an appeal to the people . He stated that the country "no one would encounter a European path." In addition, he thanked the Ukrainian people for the "civil consciousness." "I will never take a single step to the expense of Ukraine and the people. The will of the citizens of Ukraine was, is and will be decisive for each of my solutions. I want people to know this," Yanukovych said. He added that "there are no alternatives to build a society of European standards in Ukraine."