Putin, Trump spoke of a referendum for eastern Ukraine



[ad_1]

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of a referendum in eastern Ukraine during their summit in Helsinki, announced Friday. Russian ambbadador to the United States. concern in the United States about what the two world leaders actually agreed behind closed doors.

"This question [of a referendum] was discussed," he said, adding that Putin had made "concrete proposals" to Mr. Trump on four-year-old solutions for the four-year-old uprising. by Russia in the east of Ukraine. more than 10,000 people.

The move can be seen as an effort to bypbad European peace efforts for Ukraine and increase pressure on the Ukrainian government in its protracted conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbbad region.

million. Trump tweeted that the two men discussed Ukraine, but did not mention a referendum or revealed details.

The United States and Russia opposed the conflict in Ukraine, triggered by a popular uprising in 2014 against the pro-Russian president of Ukraine and the annexation by Russia of the peninsula of Crimea a month later.

The Ukrainian government has not reacted immediately to these developments, but the former Foreign Minister Konstantin Grishchenko said: "Kiev will never accept a referendum in the Donbas initiated by Russia . "

"The Kremlin has already used a referendum as justification annexing Crimea, and Moscow is trying to use this theory and disseminate it in Donbas," he said on the 112.ua television network .

The international powers did not recognize the Crimean referendum that preceded the annexation of Russia. The Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk also held referendums in 2014 that were not recognized by the Ukrainian government.

European powers should also oppose a referendum in Donbbad, where pro-Russian separatists dominate. They pledged for a peace agreement signed in 2015 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, which helped reduce the fighting but failed to find a lasting political solution for the region.

million. Putin sought to become an ally of Mr. Trump at a time when US-European ties are fraying, and both presidents criticize the EU and NATO. . German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday rejected Trump's questioning of the central principle of NATO's collective defense.

Ambbadador Antonov described Monday's summit in Helsinki as a "key event" in international politics and laughed at suggestions that the two leaders would have made "secret deals".

Antonov insisted that diplomatic talks should remain discreet to be effective, but gave some details of their discussions on arms control and said the summit has made significant progress on cooperation between the United States and Russia.

million. Antonov said that it is important to "manage the results" of the first summit of leaders before jumping too quickly into a new high.

"[But] Russia was always open to such proposals and we are ready for discussions on this subject," he said.

The Kremlin has not yet responded to Mr. Trump's proposal on Thursday.

The Russian Ambbadador to Washington also denounced what he saw as "anti-Russian anger" in the United States and the "severity" of American criticism of Mr. Trump's performance at the top.

million. Antonov also pleaded for the release of a Russian gun rights activist who was accused of being a secret agent in the United States, calling his arrest a "joke".

U.S. Federal prosecutors have accused Maria Butina this week of being a Russian secret agent and infiltrating US political organizations, including the National Rifle Association, before and after Trump's election to the Presidency.

Butina (29), denies bad deeds. The Russian Foreign Ministry has launched an online campaign for his release.

[ad_2]
Source link