Russia say EU seeking 'sphere of influence' in Ukraine

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) shakes hands with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a news conference in Moscow, Feb 14, 2014. Lavrov accused the European Union on Friday of seeking to create a "sphere of influence" by pressing Ukraine to choose closer ties with the bloc at the expense of relations with Russia. [Photo/Agencies]

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the European Union on Friday of seeking to create a "sphere of influence" by pressing Ukraine to choose closer ties with the bloc at the expense of relations with Russia.

Lavrov, speaking next to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, issued a warning to the West against interfering in the crisis, saying Ukrainians had to be allowed to resolve matters themselves.

"I fully agree with Frank-Walter that there should be no spheres of influence. But dragging Ukraine to one side, telling it that it needs to choose 'either or', either with the EU or with Russia, (the European Union) is in fact trying to create such a sphere of influence," he told a joint news conference.

"That is obvious and no nice words can change that."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to meet Ukrainian opposition leaders Vitaly Klitschko and Arseny Yatsenyuk in Berlin next Tuesday, according to Bild newspaper.