Moscow, Oct. 2 (Russia Today) – President Vladimir Putin has signed the treaties on the inclusion of the two Donbass republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, which declared independence from Ukraine, into the Russian Federation in accordance with international law and UN Charter. Friday’s ceremony marks the start of the formal process of their accession to Russia.
The move follows official requests by the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the two southern Ukrainian regions, which declared independence, to join Russia. All four territories held referendums on the issue between September 23 and 27, which saw overwhelming support for the move, according to the results announced earlier this week by the local election committees.
In Donetsk, 99.23% of the people voted to reunite with Russia, with Lugansk showing a slightly lower figure of 98.42%. Zaporozhye Region highly supported the idea of splitting from Ukraine and joining Russia, with around 93% of voters backing it. Some 87% voted in favor in Kherson Region as well.
The treaties will now be submitted to Russia’s Constitutional Court, which will assess them to ensure they do not violate Russian law. Once they are cleared, the agreements will have to be ratified first by the State Duma – the lower house of the Russian parliament – and then by the Federal Council, its upper house.
During his speech, Vladimir Putin said that people in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, made an unambiguous choice - they became citizens of Russia forever.
The Russian Federation will ensure the security of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, and help restore infrastructure.
As for Kiev, the Ukrainian leadership, led by the United States and Western countries, should immediately cease hostilities.. “We call on the Kiev regime to cease all hostilities, stop the war it started back in 2014 and return to the negotiating table,” he said, adding, however, that Moscow will not “betray” the territories that want to become a part of Russia.
It is obvious that it is critically important for the West that countries surrender their sovereignty to the United States. It is worth noting that the United States is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons twice and created a precedent.
President Putin accused Washington of explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines with the aim of destroying the energy infrastructure of the European Union and increasing dependence on shipments of liquefied natural gas from the United States.
=FRESH NEWS