West Uses European Union As ‘Carrot’ For Ukraine; Russian Speaker Says Ukraine Won't Become EU Member In Near Future

Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, said that Ukraine would not become a member of the European Union in near future. She called the E.U. a “carrot” used as bait by the West for Ukraine.

Matviyenko said that Ukraine was in a difficult economic situation, while the EU had its own problems as well. According to her, Ukraine does not stand a chance to be a part of the Union in the next decade.

Russian newspaper Izvestia asked Matviyenko why Ukraine, physically so close to Russia, was heavily dependent on the United States. She said that Ukraine was one of the “geopolitical projects” for the U.S. The main reason behind Ukraine’s dependence on the West is the inability of its leaders to establish stable institutions, she added.

“This is a classic example of oligarchic control, where every oligarch has his party, deputies, ministers, and thereby affect the power,” Matviyenko said. “Ukrainians today are not able to take any independent decisions.”

Matviyenko also said that Ukraine would understand that the Crimean peninsula was not going back to Ukraine. According to her, Ukraine will be forced to come in terms with the situation because it is what the people of Crimea wants.

Matviyenko added that she was recently in Crimea and communicated with different leaders and common people.

“They are not in the least sorry for something that is not, they are just happy and excited that their dream of returning to Russia has come true,” she said.

Matviyenko was not allowed to attend the 4th World Conference of Parliament Speakers in New York due to visa restrictions. She said that U.S. sanctions against Russia crudely violated the norms of international law, as well as the principles of democracy and freedom of speech, TASS reported.