ST. PETERSBURG, June 17. /TASS/. Russia offered support to people in Donbass after the coup in Ukraine and has long sought to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the African delegation on Saturday.
Putin recalled that back in 2014, some Ukrainians did not support the coup in the country and announced that the people living these areas would not obey the new rulers.
"Russia was forced to stand up for those people, bearing in mind our historical bonds both with the territories as well as cultural and linguistic ties with the people who live in those territories. For a long time we sought to resolve the situation in Ukraine through peaceful means," Putin said.