The head of the Russian State Duma (lower chamber), Vyacheslav Volodin, announced that consultations will be held next week on the recognition of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
In his account on a social networking site, Volodin indicated that the issue of recognition came at the suggestion of the Russian Communist Party, which was supported by the Just Russia and Liberal Democratic parties, noting that the text of the draft calls on President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of the two regions.
Volodin confirmed that they will consult with leaders of political parties on the issue of recognizing the so-called Donetsk and Lugansk republics, and based on the results, it will be presented later in the Russian State Duma.
The Russian official accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of violating the Minsk Agreement, and accused NATO of trying to occupy Ukraine.
Relations between Kiev and Moscow have been strained for nearly 7 years, against the backdrop of Russia’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea and its support for separatists loyal to it in the Donbass.
Recently, Western countries accused Russia of amassing its forces near the Ukrainian border, while Washington threatened to impose sanctions on Russia if it launched an attack on Ukraine.
In 2008, Russia recognized the independence of two separatist republics in Georgia: Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and took this step in the wake of a brief war with Georgia, the former Soviet republic that aspires to join NATO.
