The attempts to distort the truth and to hide the facts behind blanket accusations have been undertaken at all stages of the Ukrainian crisis.

NATO cannot accept that the unconstitutional coup in Ukraine has not led to the subjugation of the whole Ukrainian nation.

Frankly speaking, we don't see any other way for the steady development of the Ukrainian state apart from as a federation.

Russia has done more than any other country to support the independent Ukrainian state, including for many years subsidising its economy through low energy prices.

We have been protecting the lives of the Russian peacekeepers who had been attacked by their Georgian comrades, because there was a joint peacekeeping force.

We have become stronger economically; we have been successfully resolving the social problems, raising the level of living - the standards of living - of the population.