Moscow has offered the West a last chance, according to the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), before taking a decision on recognizing the ‘democracies’ of Donetsk and Lugansk, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. oblige Kiev to implement the Minsk agreements as soon as possible.
Russia can offer the West one last chance, proposing to it in a very short time to force Kiev to implement the Minsk agreements, said the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin after expressing confidence that Kiev does not intend to implement the Minsk agreements. “Would he agree with Nikolai Patrushev’s proposal to give, I would say, our western partners one last chance, proposing to them as soon as possible to force Kiev to choose peace and implement the Minsk agreements, because otherwise “We have to make the decision we talked about today,” Naryshkin said.
Naryshkin said that “the famous position of the Russian leadership’s plans to ‘invade’ the territory of Ukraine was born within the State Department itself and unfolded to such an extent that it now resembles war propaganda.”
“This was done in order to provoke the Kiev regime to try once again to solve the Donbas problem by military means. “Of course we have no right to allow that,” Naryskin said, supporting the proposal to recognize the two “democracies.”
For his part, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said he supported the State Duma’s proposal for the recognition of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, and that talks on Russia made sense with the United States. everyone else will do what Washington tells them. “NATO and the OSCE and the EU, etc., will do the same,” he said.
Decision today
In any case, a decision on the issue of Russia’s recognition of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic” will be taken today, February 21, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the independence of the two republics should be recognized.
The Russian president said it was necessary to consider the call of the leaders of the Russian-speaking separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, said at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, Vladimir Putin, stressing that the threat to Russia would increase significantly. , if Ukraine joined NATO.
It is noted that although the pro-Russian separatists have unilaterally declared since 2014 the “independence” of the so-called “people’s democracies” of Donetsk and Lugansk, Moscow has not yet officially recognized these “democracies” with which it maintains. close ties.
What Biden and Macron told me
The Russian president further stated that President Biden claims that they do not intend to admit Ukraine to NATO “tomorrow”, but such a moratorium is merely the realization of the alliance’s plans, not a retreat to Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that his French counterpart Emanuel Macron He told him that the Ukrainian leadership was ready to implement the Minsk peace process and was working on new ideas for holding elections in the two breakaway regions.
In a televised statement, Putin responded to an assessment by his special envoy to Ukraine, Dmitry Kozak, who expressed confidence that Kiev would never implement the peace agreements as things stand.
“I am discussing this issue with my colleagues. And my American colleague assured me that they are not preparing to accept (in NATO) Ukraine ‘tomorrow’. “Much more that a kind of moratorium is possible,” said the Russian president, adding that NATO simply considers that Ukraine is not yet ready to join the alliance. “That’s why my answer was simple: this is not a concession to us. It’s just a realization of your plans. Do you think that we need to wait and prepare Ukraine to join NATO? So here’s what the moratorium is. “We are doing this moratorium not for us, but for you,” Putin said.
Growing threat to Russia
According to the Russian president, in case Ukraine is admitted to NATO, the threats against Russia will increase. “If Russia is faced with such a threat as Ukraine’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance, the threats to our country will increase,” Putin said.
The Russian Duma (lower house) has also recently passed resolutions urging Putin to recognize the independence of these regions.
If the Russian president does make such a move, then he will not be able to continue to invoke the Minsk agreements, which recognize greater autonomy in these areas but within the borders of Ukraine.
Earlier, leaders in the two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize them as independent.
If Russia makes such a move, it could pave the way for Moscow to openly send troops to both regions, using the argument that it is intervening as an ally to protect them against Ukraine.
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