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Russia vows to defend its position on four recent referendums

Earlier, the UN chief said that the accession of the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics as well as the Kherson and the Zaporozhye Regions to Russia would have no legal value

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Though no contact has so far been planned between Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Moscow will continue to defend its position on the recent referendums in order to prove that the entire process has been in line with international law, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"No talks have so far been planned," he said, when asked if Putin could discuss the referendums and the accession of new regions to Russia with Guterres any time soon.

"The Russian side will nevertheless continue defending its stance and promoting all the arguments which clearly show that the entire process has been in compliance with international law," Peskov emphasized. The more so since this process was marred with incidents in recent history, he added.

Earlier, the UN chief told reporters that the accession of the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics as well as the Kherson and the Zaporozhye Regions to Russia would have no legal value. He also argued that the referendums could not be called a genuine expression of the popular will and that the UN position on that was unequivocal.

The Russian Permanent Mission to the United States said in a statement on Thursday that Guterres was not authorized to make statements on the part of the entire organization about the referendums in the four regions to join Russia.

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