MOSCOW - Statements by the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics (DPR and LPR) that they were prepared, on certain conditions, to consider themselves part of Ukraine should be viewed as a good precondition for starting negotiations on settling the crisis in Donbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
“The leaders of the self-proclaimed republics have publicly stated that under certain conditions – meaning the implementation of the Minsk Agreements – they are ready to consider themselves part of the Ukrainian state,” Putin said in an interview to Il Corriere della Sera in the run-up to a visit to Italy.
“This is a fundamental issue. I think this position should be viewed as a sound precondition for the start of substantial negotiations,” he said.
If Kyiv wants the self-proclaimed republics to remain part of Ukraine, it should prove to the people living there that they would find it more comfortable to be in Ukraine, Putin said.
“The main thing, something we must always bear in mind, is that we should always respect the feelings and the choice of the people. And if somebody wants these territories to remain part of Ukraine, they should prove to those people that their lives would be better, more comfortable and safer within a unified state; that they would be able to provide for themselves and ensure their children’s future within this state,” he said.
“But it is impossible to convince these people by means of weapons. These issues, issues of this kind can only be resolved by peaceful means,” Putin said.
