
Comment: It's difficult to twist the words of a man as skilled in diplomacy as Sergei Lavrov, but Bloomberg tries. "Softening his tone" implies a substantial change in tone. But Lavrov's stance is as clear, rational, and 'hard' as it ever was. Stated in another way: Russia can NOT do business with an illegitimate, coup-installed, neo-Nazi puppet regime. What about that is so hard to understand?
"If there is somebody who emerges as a figure with the support of the majority of Ukrainians, of course it's easier to have such an interlocutor than self-appointed people," Sergei Lavrov, Russia's top diplomat, said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Lavrov said he's well acquainted with the poll-leading candidate for the May 25 election, billionaire Petro Poroshenko, who isn't a "fascist" unlike some members of the current administration who took over after the ouster of Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych in February. "We can do business with anyone," Lavrov said.
Comment: Here's the complete video of Lavrov's interview: