Yuri Ushakov, the Russian leader’s foreign policy adviser, told reporters that Putin’s statement was “taken out of context and carried a completely different meaning.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Heletey’s remarks as “shocking” and accused him of making the statement in a bid to shift blame and keep his seat amid a series of defeats suffered by the Ukrainian military.
Rebels presented a negotiating platform that dropped their previous demand for full independence and expressed readiness to negotiate a settlement that would respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity in exchange for a broad autonomy for eastern provinces. …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
