The events taking place in Donbass resemble genocide, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.
“I must also say about Russophobia as the first step towards genocide. What is happening now in Donbass, we can see very well, we know. This, of course, is very reminiscent of the genocide you mentioned. Here we need to act very carefully so as not to devalue these concepts, but they must reflect the realities of the current events, ”he said, speaking with the executive director of MIA Rossiya Segodnya, chairman of the permanent commission on international cooperation in the field of human rights Kirill Vyshinsky.
The President stressed that the citizens of Russia, regardless of their place of residence, should enjoy all the rights they have. This also applies to social rights and benefits, the head of state emphasized.
Vyshinsky, in his speech, spoke about the deterioration of the situation in Donbass in the last month. He proposed to the President to introduce the concepts of “genocide” and “calls for genocide” into Russian legislation.
Earlier today, the official representative of the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbass have reached an impasse today. According to her, NATO countries are now “pumping weapons” into Ukraine, which is “in a state of civil war.” In addition, peace in this area is not facilitated by the decision of the Council of the European Union to allocate 31 million euros for military-technical assistance to Ukraine, said the representative of the Foreign Ministry. Also, referring to the data of the OSCE special monitoring mission, she announced the buildup of forces by Kiev on the line of contact in Donbass, the transfer of heavy weapons there and the use of drones.
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