MOSCOW, May 15, 2024 (BSS/TASS) - The people of Russia and Ukraine will restore relations sooner or later, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said.

"Relations between Russia and Ukraine will get back on track sooner or later. People will be able to find common ground, even if it takes time," he pointed out in an interview with the News.ru media outlet posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website.

"Washington and London have long been dreaming of driving a wedge between our countries’ people. The Anglo-Saxons have always feared our unity and they have long been trying to pit us against each other and drown us in a bloody fratricide. This is what happened in the civil war of the early 20th century and something similar is happening today. However, no matter how hard the West tries to destroy our centuries-long unity, it won’t succeed," the diplomat said.

Galuzin stressed that the people of Russia and Ukraine were united by centuries-long history, Orthodox faith and family ties. "For centuries, we have stood side by side through thick and thin. We fought together against a common enemy and worked together to raise our homeland from ruins. This genetic interconnection cannot be destroyed," he added.

According to Galuzin, the West sees both Russians and Ukrainians as "consumables." "The Westerners don’t see any difference between Russians and Ukrainians. They don’t care about us. For them, we are nothing but consumables. The sooner common people in Ukraine realize where the real threat is coming from and where the root of the evil is, the sooner we will be able to overcome artificial barriers between us," the senior Russian diplomat concluded.