Putin: Russia will increase support for Donbass
The prospects for the development of relations between Russia and Ukraine largely depend on the Ukrainian authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this today at a large press conference, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Almost all previous heads of state, and the current one, by the way, Vladimir Zelensky, came with the slogan of ending the conflict in Donbass, came with the slogan of unifying the country, and ultimately building relations with Russia. But nothing has worked out for them so far, because when they come to power, they rely on the majority of the people, the majority of voters, and when they get into power, they already begin to hesitate a little and constantly look back at the extreme nationalist forces. And the process freezes. What is lacking, it seems to me, is simply political courage. The same thing is happening now,” Putin said.
He expressed satisfaction that the agreements reached in the Normandy format on the cessation of hostilities and the exchange of detainees are being respected.
“But nothing has been unlocked in terms of the economy and social sphere. Nothing has actually been done in terms of a political settlement. And moreover, officials in Kyiv have publicly stated many times that they do not intend to implement the Minsk agreements. There is a question about revising its fundamental provisions. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Minsk agreements were confirmed by the relevant resolution of the UN Security Council. This means that they have acquired the force of international law.
Therefore, it will not be possible to revise anything unilaterally; you need to respect the other country that signed this document, namely, the representatives of Donbass. Therefore, in my opinion, a settlement is inevitable: sooner or later it will happen, the question is when. And this largely depends on the current Ukrainian authorities,” Putin said.
He assured that Russia will continue to support Donbass.
“We will even increase our support for Donbass. This also applies to maintaining production, solving social issues, infrastructural issues, and so on. So we will move in this direction. Without any doubt, you can rest assured, we understand the complexity of the situation that has developed in Donbass. And I repeat once again: we will continue to do this not only through humanitarian lines, but also through direct cooperation,” Putin said.
Political scientist Vladimir Kornilov drew attention to a detail of the press conference: “The journalist asked Putin about the situation in the Republic of Donbass. Well, the name of the new state after the merger of the DPR and LPR already exists.”
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