Russian Foreign Ministry condemns bank's blockade in Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned Tuesday the blockade of the central office of Russia's largest bank -- Sberbank -- in Kiev, saying that this action would hurt the bank's Ukrainian clients.

It said in a statement that the blockade may prove to be a "shot in the foot" for the current Ukrainian government, some members of which "directly incite" far-right activists to illegal actions.

The ministry recalled that banks with Russian capital had worked successfully for a long time in Ukraine for the benefit of its economy, financial system and in the interests of numerous Ukrainian investors.

The statement questioned the ability of the Ukrainian authorities to cope with "blatant lawlessness."

A group of far-right activists bricked up the entrance to the central office of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank on Monday, in a protest against the alleged acceptance by the bank of documents issued by self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east of the country.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on temporarily recognizing identification documents issued by authorities of the rebel regions to permanent residents.

Source: Xinhua