Moscow: Russia maintains its defense of the recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the People’s Republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (PLR) in the face of the threats and unilateral coercive measures it faces today from the West, Prensa Latina publishes.
The day before, in a message on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that ensuring the country’s defensive capacity remains the most important task for the State, especially amid the tense international situation.
?The Armed Forces are a reliable guarantee of national security, of the peaceful and quiet life of our citizens and of the stable and progressive development of Russia?, the president declared.
He drew attention to the dangers posed by existing challenges, such as the weakening of the arms control system or the military activity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the region and in the immediate vicinity of the Russian borders.
He also reiterated that Moscow’s calls for the establishment of an equal and indivisible security system, reliably protecting all countries, remain unanswered.
For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, urged the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to act impartially in the face of any conflict and, in particular, with respect to the latest events in Ukraine.
This Wednesday, at the beginning of talks in Moscow with the UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, Lavrov stressed that the Secretariat of the highest international organization is obliged to advocate direct dialogue between the parties to the conflict.
He stressed that, however, the UN Secretary General never “raised his voice” in favor of fulfilling the demands of the Minsk agreements and Security Council Resolution 2202, documents according to which all problems will be resolved through agreements between Kiev and the Donetsk and Lugansk autonomous regions.
He recalled that no Western country pressured the Ukrainian government to implement the Minsk package of measures either. “Sadly, the secretary general followed that sad example,” he said.
The leaders of the DPR and RPL denounced on February 17 the escalation of hostilities in the vicinity of the contact line with heavy weapons bombardment by the Ukrainian military forces.
A day later, they called on the residents of those territories to leave for Russia due to the possible escalation of the fighting and declared the general mobilization of all combat-worthy people.
On February 21, Putin approved Russia’s recognition of the sovereignty of the DPR and the LPR and signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with his bosses, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pásechnik.
The Russian head of state summoned the competent organizations to establish diplomatic relations with these republics and guarantee the maintenance of peace in these autonomous territories. The Russian authorities reiterated that options remain open for diplomacy and dialogue to succeed, but they will not allow new bloodshed in Donbass.