Russia's Inter-Religious Council, which unites the leaders and representatives of the country's leading religious organizations, has called on the Ukrainian people to make their choice through nationwide dialogue instead of protests.

"We respect the fact that individual political forces in Ukraine seek more robust relations with Western Europe. But we cannot help noting that commitment to the principles of freedom and awareness is the only factor that will help people make the right choice," the council said in a statement, seen by Interfax-Religion on Wednesday.

Russia's religious leaders believe that relations with EU countries should be promoted in the form of "mutually beneficial cooperation, in which each side is allowed to demand respect for its system of values, its model of society, its political culture, and its economic and social system."

According to the authors of this statement, in the course of such a dialogue Western Europe "ought to be prepared to embrace change to the same extent as Ukraine," a country with a multi-million population and centuries-old spiritual and ethic traditions.

"The people of Ukraine should be able to make their choice independently and peacefully through a nationwide dialogue and the demonstration of goodwill in talks with representatives of the other civilization instead of doing so in the course of riots and conflicts," the statement says.

The people of Russia and Ukraine "passed a stage of passively and apathetically accepting what is being imposed on them by others a long time ago," especially as "we have the experience that is not yet known in the modern West: the experience of the centuries-long co-existence of different ethnic groups, cultures and religious traditions, the experience of building a civilization characterized by diversity and plurality," it says.

The council reiterated the importance of preserving national traditions in Ukraine and warned against attempts to "lock themselves up into their own type of cultural ghetto." "Cutting off living ties with Russia, stripping people of the opportunity to communicate in the Russian language and imposing a taboo on Russian-language literature and cultural and educational events may result in spiritual poverty," it said.

The ardent supporters of Ukraine's integration with Europe should not forget that the fraternal people of Russia and Ukraine are "tied, first and foremost, by their centuries-long friendship and their shared spiritual, moral and historical legacy rather than economic interests and instantaneous profit," according to the statement.