MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. A new state can be created only on a legitimate basis, with all due respect for the people’s wish to gain sovereignty, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in an article, "On the Historical Unity of the Russians and Ukrainians," posted on the Kremlin’s website on Monday.

"Everything changes, including countries and societies. And certainly, a part of one people in the course of its development - due some reasons and historical circumstances - may at a certain point feel and recognize itself as a separate nation. How to respond to this? There is only one way to respond to this: with respect!" Putin stressed. According to him, if people want to "create their own state - they are welcome to!"

"But on what terms?" he said, highlighting that any decision should be legitimate. In case of Ukraine, it should return to the borders, which it had when it joined the Soviet Union in 1922 (without the Crimean Peninsula). "In other words - you should leave with what you came with." Putin points out that this conclusion is based on the data from open sources, which contain well-known facts. "The leaders of modern Ukraine and its foreign sponsors prefer not to remember these facts," he notes.