The Slon.ru website quoted Mr. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday as saying that if supporters of "federalization" in eastern Ukraine heed Mr. Putin's call to postpone the referendum, and if Kyiv halts its military operation against pro-Russian militants and moves to begin a "dialogue," the Ukrainian presidential election set for May 25 can legitimately be held.
Peskov added that the Kremlin is not negotiating with Kyiv authorities, and that Mr. Putin's proposal to postpone the referendum is "not a step towards Kyiv, but a step towards all the Ukrainian people," the website reported.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Putin urged pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to postpone Sunday's secession referendum, saying he was making the request in order to "create the necessary condition for dialogue" with the Ukrainian government.
Speaking to reporters after meeting in Moscow with the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Didier Burkhalter), the Russian president also gave a qualified endorsement of Ukraine's May 25 presidential election, calling it "a movement in the right direction." However, he added the vote will solve nothing if "all of Ukraine's citizens do not understand how their rights will be guaranteed" after the election.
Pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk have said they plan to hold a referendum on Sunday (May 11) asking residents whether they favor an independent "Donetsk People's Republic." Separatists in the eastern region of Luhansk have said they will hold a similar referendum.
- A separatist leader (Denis Pushilin) told the Reuters news agency that a "people's assembly" would discuss Mr. Putin's request to delay the vote, adding that they have the "utmost respect" for the Russian president.
Ukraine's acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk dismissed Mr. Putin's call to postpone the referendum as "hot air."................[voanews.com]
7/5/14
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