JOHANNESBURG, July 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declined to comment on the possible referendum on the status of Donbass.

"I will not make any comments for now, it is a very delicate, sensitive issue, which needs further research and development," he told journalists at the press conference on the outcomes of the BRICS summit held in South Africa.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing two unnamed individuals who were present during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech at the meeting of Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives in Moscow, that the Russian leader allegedly suggested holding a referendum in eastern Ukraine at the Helsinki summit between Putin and US President Donald Trump.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later stated that if the US and the international community are unable to make Kiev implement the Minsk agreements, then they can discuss other methods of regulation.