Vladimir Putin decided on Monday to recognize the independence of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. In the wake of this, he signed “friendship and mutual aid” agreements with these territories.
“I consider it necessary to take this decision which was ripe for a long time: to immediately recognize the independence of the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Lugansk”, said the Russian president in a televised address.
He asked the Russian Parliament “to approve this decision and then to ratify the friendship and mutual aid agreements with the two republics”.
He signed in the wake of the agreements with the leaders of these two territories, sponsored for eight years by Russia in the war which opposes them to Kiev. The contents have not been disclosed.
Short-circuited peace agreements
Russian recognition of the separatists short-circuits the peace process resulting from the Minsk agreements of 2015, signed by Russia and Ukraine, under Franco-German mediation, and which aimed precisely at a return to Ukrainian sovereignty of these areas.
This decision paves the way for a call for assistance to Russia from these territories as sovereign states and therefore the entry of Russian forces into these regions.
NATO pointed the finger
The master of the Kremlin once again denounced the successive enlargements of NATO, which Moscow considers a threat.
And according to him, the entry of Ukraine into the Atlantic Alliance would be “a matter of time”, further aggravating the danger hanging over Russia, because the United States could deploy offensive weapons in Ukrainian territory.