Lavrov explained why Putin acknowledged the “passport” of militants in the Donbas
Russia recognized “passport” and “documents” that give the militants “DNR” and “LNR” in the Donbass, “purely humanitarian grounds”. They say that they could travel freely to Russia.
So explained the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who signed the corresponding decree, the Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov, reports “Interfax”.
“Purely humanitarian grounds, for the period until fully implemented the Minsk agreement, while not resolved all that needs to be dealt with under the Minsk “package of measures”, decree of the President (Putin) allowed to accept the identity that the residents of Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk, in order to enable them to Russia to get legitimate, and then use the railway, aviation transport of the Russian Federation”, – said Lavrov.
He said this in Munich, Germany, where the international security conference. There was held the negotiations in the Normandy format on the situation in the Donbass.
Lavrov stressed that, say, the residents of Donbass “is constantly subjected to various blockades, and various constraints. They cannot receive pension, social assistance, may not have normal access to health services, given that many medical institutions in the Donbas were destroyed or badly damaged, may not, in fact, they travel in their Affairs, given the presence of a huge number of families, relatives, friends who live on both sides of the border in the Donbass in the Russian Federation”.
Note that Kiev pays pensions and social benefits only to those Ukrainians who have left the occupied territory and signed up for the free part of Ukraine.
Lavrov also said that Putin’s decree did not discuss at the meeting in the Normandy format.
“I don’t think someone sees this as a change of position (of Russia regarding the status of the self-proclaimed “DNR” and “LNR”),” – said Lavrov.
But the Minister of foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin said that the signing by Putin of the decree became known after the negotiations in the Normandy format, reports “European true”.
President Petro Poroshenko, the NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov, Minister of foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin and foreign Minister of Ukraine strongly condemned the actions of Russia regarding recognition of “documents” of the militants. Kiev sees this as an escalation of the conflict in the Donbass, the continuation of Russian aggression and violation of international law.