Playing the "Russian card" to aggravate Russian-Ukrainian relations: Foreign Minister

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the extradition of a Russian diplomat from Ukraine didn’t reflect the viewpoint of the entire executive of that country.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has ordered Vladimir Lysenko, a counsellor minister of the Russian embassy who supervises the activities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol to leave the country.

“Such initiatives don’t reflect the viewpoint of the entire executive branch. It means that those standing behind them are trying to play the Russian card pursuing their internal political goals,” Lavrov is quoted by Itar-Tass as saying.

“It’s sad,” the minister added.

“I don’t see any reason which could explain this decision. Therefore, I regard it exclusively as another step in a succession of unfriendly acts taken against Russia by the current leadership in Kiev,” Lavrov said.

“We are studying this matter carefully, there will be certain consequences. But this is not our choice,” the Russian foreign minister emphasized.

“At the same time we know for sure that not all bodies of executive power in Ukraine share this approach. Therefore, such initiatives don’t reflect the approach of the entire executive branch in that country,” Itar-Tass quoted Lavrov as concluding.