ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Moscow's opinion on the events in Ukraine and its unwillingness to extradite whistleblower Edward Snowden became "irritants" in Russia's relations with the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"Our stance in regard to the events in southeastern Ukraine and some minor things, such as not extraditing Snowden, are, according to some of our partners, irritants in our relations. They are used to monopoly on the international arena and do not want to deal with anyone else," Putin said at a media forum.
For instance, relations between Russia and the United States escalated amid the crisis in Ukraine. Washington and its allies accused Moscow of fueling the conflict and introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia. Moscow has consistently denied the allegations.
