MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken note of the State Duma’s request to recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) but such a move won’t be in line with the Minsk Agreements, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
"There are no clear rules in this regard," he said in response to a question from TASS about steps that might follow the State Duma’s request. "The president has received the request, he reacted to it, he took it into account," Peskov assured. He emphasized, however, that "the recognition [of the DPR and LPR] is not in line with the Minsk Agreements." "This is indeed the case," the press secretary noted.
According to him, the State Duma’s request "really is a very clear sign indicating the mood of lawmakers and the nation’s prevailing public opinion." "However, the president emphasized that the crucial thing is to help resolve the situation in the southeast [of Ukraine] and it can only be done through comprehensive efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures," the Kremlin spokesman stressed. "This is what the president will focus on," he specified.
On Tuesday, Putin commented on the State Duma’s request for him to recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics at a press conference following talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "I will proceed from the fact that we all need to do everything to solve Donbass’ problem, which should be done, first and foremost, based on the opportunities provided by the Minsk Agreements that haven’t been fully implemented. We do expect that our partners on the other side of the Atlantic and in Europe, primarily Germany and France, will exert the necessary influence on the current authorities in Kiev and a solution will be found," the Russian leader noted.