The Russian parliament approves the request to use the armed forces outside the country.. Putin holds a press conference

The Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matvienko, announced that the President of the country, Vladimir Putin, has submitted a request to use the armed forces of Russia outside the country.

Matvienko stated - according to Russian media, that today, Tuesday, the Federation Council received a "request from the President ... on the use of the Russian armed forces outside the Russian Federation", directed to include this topic on the agenda of the session and to consider it with open discussions.

Valentina Matvienko announced that the relevant committees of the Federation Council were advised to agree to the request, although an appropriate decision on the use of the armed forces abroad will enter into force on Tuesday.

The draft resolution stipulates that the number of forces, their areas of operation, their missions and the period of their presence abroad are matters to be determined by the Russian President.

till then; The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the situation in the territories of the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk is deteriorating, noting the need to protect the residents of the two regions.

Parliament approves

The Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Parliament, Valentina Matvienko, has agreed to the request of the country's President, Vladimir Putin, on the use of the Russian armed forces outside the country.

And the members of the Federation Council voted, during a meeting held today, Tuesday, in favor of agreeing to Putin's request, as an appropriate decision received the support of 153 senators.

The document says: "The Federation Council decided to approve the request of the Russian President to use the Russian Armed Forces outside the territory of the Russian Federation based on generally recognized principles and provisions of international law."

The resolution stipulates that the number of Russian forces used abroad, their areas of operations and missions, and the period of their presence there are matters to be determined by the Russian President.

The document entered into force immediately after its adoption on Tuesday.

 

Putin press conference

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that his country will provide military assistance to the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and will send armed forces to their lands if necessary.

Putin said, during a press conference held today, Tuesday, that Russia was interested in implementing the Minsk agreements on settling the crisis in southeastern Ukraine, pointing out that he was one of the authors of these documents, which he stressed were "the result of consensus."

He recalled that these agreements were signed by the presidents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics at the time, but one of them, the President of the Donetsk Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, was killed in 2018 in an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence.

He continued: "Despite everything, a consensus was found, it was a real movement on the path to a peaceful settlement, but everything was liquidated by the efforts of the Kiev authorities over the past years... The Minsk agreements were killed long before the recognition of the two people's republics in Donbass. Yesterday. And this was done by the current authorities in Kiev and not by us or the representatives of the two republics."

He explained that the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics by Russia is a measure resulting from the Ukrainian authorities' public assertions that they do not intend to implement these agreements, explaining that Russia will not wait for "a continuation of the genocide against about 4 million people residing in those territories, and this cannot be tolerated."

He stressed that Western countries were unable to push the Ukrainian side to abide by the Minsk agreements, stressing: "Of course, in this sense, the Minsk agreements do not exist, and how can they be implemented if we recognize the independence of these two entities (the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk)."

The Russian president explained that his country recognized the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, which means recognizing their founding documents, including the two constitutions, which "delineate the borders of the two republics within the framework of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions during the period of their entry into Ukraine."

"But we hope that all contentious issues will be resolved during negotiations between the current authorities in Kiev and the administrations of the two republics. Unfortunately, we now understand that this is impossible because the hostilities there are still continuing and even taking an orientation towards escalation," he added.

Putin: We will send our forces to Donbass if necessary

In response to a question about whether Russia is ready to send its armed forces to Donbass, Putin said: “Of course, yesterday we signed the two agreements (on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance) with the Donetsk and Lugansk republics. in the military."

"In light of the continuation of the conflict there, we clearly confirm with this decision that we intend to implement the commitments that we have undertaken, if necessary," Putin added.

In answer to another question, Putin explained: "I did not say that our forces will go there immediately after this meeting that is taking place today... It is not possible to predict any precise development of possible measures, it depends on the situation on the ground."

Putin reveals 4 measures Ukraine should take to resolve tension with Russia

Addressing the measures that must be taken by Kiev to resolve the current tension with Moscow, Putin noted that this issue has been discussed repeatedly with the United States and European countries, noting: "The first point that must be made is to recognize the expression of people who reside in Sevastopol and Crimea. About their will, I've talked about it many times and I want to stress it again, why is this expression worse than what happened in Kosovo? It's not, the difference is that the decision there was taken by Parliament, and here in the popular referendum."

He pointed out that the participants in the referendum voted voluntarily and made their decision to reunite with Russia, and this decision must be respected because it was reached in a referendum and is "the highest form of democracy."

And Putin added: "Secondly, and this is what we are talking about openly and have a sharp dispute with Washington and NATO, we are categorically opposed to accepting Ukraine's joining the alliance, because this is a threat to us and there are arguments that confirm this."

He added, "We proceed from something that many are talking about, including in Western capitals, that the best solution to this issue and which guarantees that our colleagues will not lose face is for the current authorities in Kiev themselves to abandon joining NATO, which means in practice the implementation of the idea of ​​neutrality. ".

He pointed out that the third point "has lost its vitality", which lay in resolving the Donbass issue through negotiations between Donetsk and Lugansk on the one hand and Kiev on the other.

Fourth, everything that was mentioned above could be overturned within a second if our so-called Western partners inject the current authorities in Kiev with modern types of weapons. That is why the main point is the demilitarization of present-day Ukraine to a certain degree, because that is a factor The only thing that can be controlled objectively, monitored and responded to."

Putin: The appearance of even tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine would represent a strategic threat to Russia

Addressing the recent statements of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, about the possibility of Kiev abandoning the Budapest Treaty on the destruction of its nuclear weapons, Putin said that its appearance in Ukraine would be a threat to Russia.

"The emergence of even tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine would represent a strategic threat to us, and this matter must be taken into account," he said.

He continued: "Ukraine since the time of the Soviet Union has had sufficiently wide nuclear capabilities, there are several nuclear units, the nuclear industry has been developed on a large scale and well ... There is everything to solve this issue at a much faster pace than countries that are doing it from scratch. ".