The Russian presidency will consult the people of the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv and Zaporijia, which were annexed last week after a referendum condemned by the international community, to determine their borders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Monday. .
According to the Kremlin representative, Russia recognizes the borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics – also annexed last Friday – based on the borders established in 2014, when the Ukrainian conflict began, but in Kharkov and Zaporijia “the population will be consulted “.
When asked by the press whether the Ukrainian army-controlled areas of the Kharkov and Zaporijia regions are Russian territories, Peskov declined to answer, saying only that he “had nothing to add”.
The spokesman for the Russian presidency has also decided not to give details about how the consultations with the inhabitants of these regions will proceed.
“Now I can’t answer the question. No doubt the configuration [das fronteiras] will depend only on the will of the people who live in these areas”he said, adding that no new referendums are planned for the time being in the territory of the Kiev-controlled regions.
The Russian State Duma or Chamber of Deputies this Monday will ratify the annexation laws signed by the Russian Federation with the pro-Russian leaders of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkiv and Zaporijia regions.
In addition to these laws, constitutional bills for the accession of these territories to the Russian state were sent to the State Duma on Sunday.
According to the documents, the official language in these four regions will be Russian, although the use of Ukrainian will be allowed, while the national currency will be the ruble and the four regions will keep their names.
Moscow announced the annexation of Ukraine’s four regions after referendums held between September 23 and 27, the purported results of which have shown almost complete popular support for its inclusion in Russia.
Neither Ukraine nor the international community recognize the annexations.
Source: DN
