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State Duma speaker urges Kiev to stop punitive operation in Ukraine’s south-east

Sergei Naryshkin says he hopes Petro Poroshenko, who is leading in the presidential election, will make all efforts for Ukraine to return to the path of civilized development
State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin ITAR-TASS/Sergei Fadeichev
State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin
© ITAR-TASS/Sergei Fadeichev

MOSCOW, May 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Sergei Naryshkin, State Duma Speaker, on Monday called on the new Kiev authorities to stop a punitive operation in Ukraine’s south-east and investigate all crimes committed by far-right radicals.

“Termination of violence and the punitive operation are certainly the key question for the new authorities,” Naryshkin said at a meeting with Tiny Kox, the leader of the political Group of the Unified European Left in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

“It’s necessary to thoroughly investigate all horrible crimes in Odessa and other crimes of right radicals, including on Maidan,” he said.

Maidan is the name for downtown Kiev's Independence Square, which is the symbol of Ukrainian protests. The words “Maidan” and “Euromaidan” are used as a collective name for anti-government protests in Ukraine that started when President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union last year to study the deal more thoroughly.

Naryshkin said that it is “still very far” until the crisis in Ukraine is overcome.

“And certainly special responsibility lies with the person who gained most votes in the (presidential) election. It is evident that this is (Petro) Poroshenko,” he stressed.

“I hope that Poroshenko will make all efforts for Ukraine to return to the path of civilized development. We respect the choice of the Ukrainian people,” the State Duma speaker said.

The Ukrainian Central Election Commission said that with 80.1% of ballots counted, tycoon Petro Poroshenko gains 54% of the vote in Sunday’s presidential elections in Ukraine, set by Ukraine’s interim authorities propelled to power amid riots during a coup that occurred in the country in February.

Poroshenko earlier told media he had provided assistance to Euromaidan protesters in Kiev.