MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Russia hopes that the UN Secretariat, before making any statements regarding Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, will rely on the organization’s basic principles, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the Rossiya-24 round-the-clock television news channel on Tuesday.

"It is my strong wish to see the UN Secretariat’s leadership, in making some statements, adhere to the basic principles the organization rests upon in accordance with the decisions made by the member-states.

"Our colleagues at the UN Secretariat apparently must abide by the decisions adopted by that organization - decisions that are crucial to the implementation of the UN Charter’s principles and goals and decisions that were made unanimously on the basis of consensus, in other words, by all UN member-states without an exception," Lavrov said.

Earlier, the UN Secretary General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that Antonio Guterres was very concerned about Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of the DPR and LPR. He said that Guterres saw Russia’s decision as a violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty failing to meet the principles of the UN Charter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 declared that Russia recognized the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics. Treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders. Putin instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to establish diplomatic relations with Donetsk and Lugansk and asked the Defense Ministry to maintain peace in their territories.