kremlin.ru

President Vladimir Putin called the decision of the current Ukrainian authorities to send "tanks and aircraft against the civilian population" "yet another very serious crime." During a direct line on April 17, he said that the crisis in Ukraine should be resolved through a genuine, not ostentatious, dialogue with the regions, which should involve regional people's leaders who should be released from custody. According to him, Russia has nothing to do with the current protests in southeastern Ukraine. "It's all nonsense," he said of such suspicions. There are no Russian special forces in the southeast, no Russian intelligence agents or instructors there, he assured. The president recalled that the Federation Council has given him the right to use troops in Ukraine, but he hopes that this will not have to be done.

According to him, the local population is active in the eastern regions of Ukraine, and the best proof that "their own" are participating in the protests is that people have taken off their masks. "I told my Western partners: they have nowhere to go, they will not go anywhere. They are the owners of this land. And we need to talk to them," the president said. He recalled that these regions were previously called Novorossiya, they were not part of Ukraine "in tsarist times", but were transferred to it by the Soviet government after the revolution. The Russian-speaking population gradually began to settle there, then Ukraine separated, and the people remained. Putin emphasized that these are citizens of Ukraine and they should be on equal terms with everyone else. The question is not what comes first - federalization or elections - the question is about guarantees for these people.

Answering a question about the latest events in eastern Ukraine, Putin recalled that at the end of November 2013, President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign the document on association with the European Union on the proposed terms, as he feared unfavorable consequences for the population. His decision was not liked by everyone, the Russian leader noted. According to him, as a result, the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine experienced a surge of nationalism, threats against them, attempts to limit some rights of national minorities - as an example, he named the attempt to cancel the right to use their native language.

Instead of establishing a dialogue with the dissatisfied population of a number of regions, Kyiv sent "its own appointees," oligarchs, there as governors, Putin recalled. According to him, this only increased the citizens' discontent: oligarchs are already treated with mistrust, suspecting them of dishonesty, and when they were appointed governors, it became even worse.

In response to these personnel decisions, the dissatisfied population began to nominate their own leaders, whom they trusted. In response, the authorities "imprisoned" all these leaders. At the same time, the authorities are in no hurry to disarm the nationalist units, Putin added. When the residents of the eastern regions armed themselves, the leadership in Kyiv "moved tanks and aircraft against the civilian population." He admitted that representatives of the current Ukrainian authorities traveled to problematic regions, but, according to Putin, they met not with the population and not with those whom the population trusts, but with their appointees.

Acting Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk came to Donetsk after the seizure of the regional state administration and the proclamation of the Donetsk People's Republic. During this trip, he promised to support the adoption of the law on regional referendums, and assured that no one was going to cancel the status of the Russian language. However, he refused to meet with the activists who were holding the administrative building.

Putin hopes that "it will be possible to understand what abyss the current government is sliding into and dragging the country along with it." He considers the upcoming four-party talks in Geneva on April 17 a chance to think about a way out of the situation. Moscow believes that the population of eastern Ukraine should be offered "a real, not ostentatious dialogue," in which the people's leaders, who should be released from prison, should participate. During such a dialogue, it will be possible to understand what the regions want and find solutions. Putin emphasized that a solution to the crisis should be sought only through dialogue and democratic procedures, "and not by using tanks and aircraft."

The task of the so-called "polite people" in Crimea, according to Putin, was to prevent the events that are currently taking place in southeastern Ukraine: to prevent the use of weapons against the population and to ensure free expression of will in the referendum. The president acknowledged that "our servicemen, of course, stood behind the self-defense of Crimea." In his opinion, they acted very correctly and fulfilled their task, blocking military facilities. According to the president, there were over 20,000 servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Crimea, who, according to him, were well armed. There were 38 S300 installations alone on the peninsula, as well as weapons depots and "trains of ammunition." Putin said that it was necessary to prevent any possibility of using these weapons against the civilian population.

According to the hosts of the "direct line", of the 2 million questions and messages for the president, many were about Ukraine and Crimea. According to them, many of them were formulated "very briefly and very simply": "Thank you for Crimea!" In the first hour of the event, Putin was asked 18 questions, 15 of them about Crimea and Ukraine, RIA Novosti noted.

Putin: Ukrainian authorities sent tanks and aircraft against civilians