End Of Violence Main Condition For Launching Dialogue In Ukraine, Says Putin

Russia demands that the current Kiev administration immediately halt all military operations in the southeastern regions of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the end of violence is an imperative condition for settling the Ukrainian crisis. “An imperative condition of the beginning of this dialogue is the end of any violence: the engagement of both the armed forces – which is absolutely unacceptable – and illegal armed units of radicalized elements,” Putin told a press conference.

“Russia demands that the Kiev administration immediately halt all military punitive operations in the southeastern regions of Ukraine,” the Russian president told a press conference following negotiations with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, Interfax reports.

The Russian president said the attempts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine using violence are not helping resolve the contradictions that now exist in the country, but, on the contrary, increase division.

Putin reaffirmed that Russia was still ready to contribute to the Ukrainian settlement. “Russia is ready to make a strong contribution to the Ukrainian crisis settlement and influence the Geneva process in the most positive manner,” he said.

Vladimir Putin says the upcoming Ukrainian presidential election is a step in the right direction but it will solve nothing unless all Ukrainian citizens understand the way their rights will be guaranteed.

Russia hails the release of the Donetsk region’s “people’s governor” Pavel Gubarev, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

“We hail the release of Mr. Gubarev. We expect the release of all political prisoners,” Putin told a press conference following negotiations with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on representatives of the southeastern regions of Ukraine to postpone the referendum scheduled for May 11.

“We are asking representatives of the southeastern regions of Ukraine and federalization supporters to reschedule the referendum scheduled for May 11,” Putin told a press conference on Wednesday.

The developments in Ukraine are following a most unfavorable scenario, those who staged the coup have still not disarmed right-wing radical groups, President Vladimir Putin has said.

“I would want to stress once more that Russia believes that those who staged a coup d’etat in Kiev on February 22 and 23 are to blame for the crisis that broke out in Ukraine and is actively unfolding according to the most unfavorable scenario,” he said.

Those who staged the coup in Ukraine “have still not cared to disarm right-wing radical and nationalist elements,” Putin said.

“We should be looking for a way out of the situation that has evolved at this moment of time. We are all interested in that. First of all Ukraine itself, the Ukrainian people, of course,” he said.

A dialogue between the Kiev authorities and southeastern Ukraine is a key condition of the Ukrainian settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

He noted after a meeting with Swiss President Didier Burkhalter that Russia and the OSCE in large part saw eye-to-eye in the Ukrainian settlement issue.

“We believe that direct dialogue between the Kiev authorities and representatives of southeastern Ukraine is a key settlement element,” the Russian president said.

The approaches of Russia and Switzerland to the Ukrainian crisis settlement coincide to a large extent, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

“The discussion demonstrated that our approaches to methods of settling this crisis coincide to a considerable degree,” he told a press conference after negotiations with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, whose country is chairing the OSCE.

“All of us are interested in settling this crisis, settling it as soon as possible with due account of interests of all Ukrainian citizens irrespective of their place of residence,” the Russian leader said.

Russian president to discuss Ukraine with CIS leaders

The situation in Ukraine will be in the focus of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with the leaders of some CIS countries in Moscow on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax. “Certainly, the situation in Ukraine will be in the spotlight of the [meeting’s] agenda. There will also be bilateral meetings, at which issues related to bilateral relations will be discussed,” Peskov said.

The leaders of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will gather for a meeting in Moscow on May 8.

Putin, OSCE chairman to discuss steps to reduce tensions in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter in Moscow on Wednesday. The meeting is expected to focus on the crisis in Ukraine, the Kremlin press service has reported. The meeting is also expected to address key issues of Russian-Swiss cooperation, including in the context of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which is marked in 2014.

The possibility of Burkhalter’s visit to Moscow was discussed on May 4 in a phone conversation between the Russian president and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The leaders of the two countries then pointed out the importance of taking effective international measures, primarily in the OSCE, to reduce tensions in Ukraine, the Kremlin press service has reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said in Vienna the meeting with Burkhalter in Moscow will address “ways of helping to begin nationwide dialogue in Ukraine.”

Putin to chair presidential commission session to review implementation of “May Decrees“

On Wednesday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, on the day of the second anniversary of his inauguration, will review, together with the government, the implementation of the “May Decrees”. This will be the subject of discussion at a session of the presidential Commission for monitoring the attainment of the targeted indicators of the socio-economic development of Russia, the Kremlin press service reported.

“The leadership of the government and respective ministers will report the work being done on a number of key aspects, such as the development of health care, an improvement of the housing conditions of citizens, accessibility of municipal and State-provided services, a rise in the productivity of labour, as well as the development of the Far East,” the press service report says.

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