Russian parliament asks President Vladimir Putin to recognise two regions in eastern Ukraine as independent republics. A resolution on this has been approved in the House of Commons.
The Kremlin said earlier today that it remains committed to the peace process launched by the Minsk accords.
Recognition of the republics could be problematic for the peace process in eastern Ukraine. The so-called Normandy group of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany held talks last week about compliance with the Minsk agreements, which have significantly reduced fighting. Unfortunately, that conversation yielded no results. Talks about the long-running conflict will continue in March.
Two resolutions had been tabled on the recognition of the self-declared people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the other stated that the plan would first go to various government agencies for consultation. Also known as the Donbas, the affected areas are home to pro-Russian separatists who have been waging war against the government army since 2014.
The plan to consider the regions as independent states was presented in the Russian parliament in mid-January by 11 parliamentarians, including the leader of the Communist Party. They said this move is necessary to protect residents from outside threats. Russia supports the separatist regions both militarily and financially.