Instead of recognizing referendums, Putin will exchange them for decentralization of Ukraine - expert
Moscow – Kyiv, May 12 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) – Putin can use the referendum in the Southeast to bargain with the United States and the EU without recognizing the Donetsk Republic, experts say.
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Experts believe that the Kremlin will not immediately recognize the results of the referendums. “Rather, Russia will use the results of the vote in Donbass as one of the levers of negotiations (with the West," PIR Center vice-president Dmitry Polikanov explained to Kommersant. “This is not Crimea: Moscow is not comfortable recognizing the results of yesterday’s referendums, since it is not clear , what to do next with them.”
The fact that bargaining with Kiev and the West is possible is evidenced by the joint statement on Ukraine released the day before by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande. They propose that Moscow recognize the May 25 elections and the legitimacy of the new Ukrainian authorities, as well as continue to regularly supply Ukraine with gas. In return, the Europeans are allegedly ready to seek decentralization of Ukraine within the framework of the OSCE peace plan.
English version :: Read in English Instead of recognizing referendums, Putin will exchange them for decentralization of Ukraine - expert