Russian MPs urge Putin to recognise People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk

On Wednesday, January 19, members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, led by party leader Gennady Zyuganov, submitted a bill to the State Duma appealing to Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk and People's Republic of Luhansk. The document was published on the database of electronic documents of the State Duma. In addition, the MPs ask the head of state to consider holding talks with the leadership of the breakaway republics as soon as possible to create a legal basis for interstate relations to regulate all aspects of cooperation and mutual assistance, including security issues. As the authors of the appeal note, the current authorities of Ukraine have become intolerant of the historically established norms of life, nor do they accept the will and religion of those residing in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, having forced residents of individual regions to hold a referendum in May 2014 to vote for their self-identification.