Russia Urges Other Countries To Recognise Ukraine Separatist Regions
NDTV
Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised the Ukraine rebels despite the West repeatedly warning him not to and threatening Moscow with a massive sanctions response.
Russia on Tuesday called on other countries to "follow" it in recognising east Ukraine's separatist republics, a day after President Vladimir Putin did so and ordered the Russian army to send troops there as "peacekeepers."
"Russia calls on other states to follow its example," Moscow's foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added that Moscow's recognition of the rebels -- condemned by the West -- was "not easy, but the only possible step".
Putin's decision to recognise the rebels, the foreign ministry said, was "dictated primarily by humanitarian considerations" and "intended to serve as a guarantee for peaceful life" in the Donetsk and Lugansk rebel republics.
