Putin calls on Ukraine once again to dialogue with separatists
Russian President Vladimir Putin, once again urged Kiev to sit with the separatists to negotiate the peace and agree to give to eastern Ukrainian an autonomy that takes into consideration the interests of its inhabitants.
“It is urgent to begin substantive negotiations, not on technical issues but on political organization of society issues and the state model in southeastern Ukraine,” Putin stated in an interview published by the Russian Public Television.
Russia so far had claimed that Kiev grants greater rights to the eastern regions, inhabited by a majority of Russian speakers, under a decentralized federal system.
Putin also blamed on Western of the conflict in Ukraine, accusing them of supporting a “coup” in February against the then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, a supporter of Kremlin.
He also criticized that the European Union is giving support to the Ukrainian Government and recommended to rethink its policy towards Kiev.