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Russia asking pro-federalization forces in Ukraine to postpone referendum — Putin

Putin urged Kiev authorities to stop punitive operations in the South-East of Ukraine as they were only aggravating the situation

© ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Metsel

MOSCOW, May 07. /ITAR-TASS/. President Vladimir Putin asked the supporters of federalization in Ukraine to postpone a referendum on the status of their regions from May 11 until a later date in order to create proper conditions for the plebiscite.

“We are asking representative of the South-East of Ukraine, the supporters of federalisation to postpone the referendum slated for May 11 in order to create proper conditions for this dialogue,” he said after talks with Swiss President and Chairperson-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Didier Burkhalter on Wednesday, May 7.

Putin stressed that the presidential elections announced by Kiev were “a movement in the right direction all by itself but they won’t change anything if people in Ukraine do not understand how their rights will be guaranteed after the elections”.

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