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Kiev Unwilling to Have Substantial Dialogue With Southeast Ukraine – Putin

© RIA Novosti . Alexey Nikolsky / Go to the mediabankVladimir Putin said Ukrainian government does not want to hold substantial political dialogue with the country’s southeast regions
Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian government does not want to hold substantial political dialogue with the country’s southeast regions - Sputnik International
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Ukrainian authorities do not want to hold substantial political dialogue with the country’s southeastern regions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

Updated on 01:02 p.m. Moscow Time

YAKUTSK, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian authorities do not want to hold substantial political dialogue with the country’s southeastern regions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

“I believe that the main reason is [that] today’s Kiev authorities don’t want to hold substantial political dialogue with the east of the country, a substantial political dialogue,” Putin said.

“The goal of the [eastern] militia is to drive the [Ukrainian] military forces and artillery away so as to not allow them to strike living quarters,” Putin said in regard to the militia’s latest activities.

Since mid-April, Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the independence supporters in southeastern Ukraine who refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government after a February coup.

Over the past few days, the situation in Luhansk and Donetsk regions worsened with fighting intensifying. Local militia have been trying to protect civilians and drive Ukrainian troops away from the populated areas.

Heavy clashes and shelling by the Ukrainian Army have led to a humanitarian crisis in the area, with water, food and power shortages.

The conflict has already claimed more than 2,200 lives, according to the latest UN statistics, published last week.

Moscow has called on Kiev to begin substantial talks on de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine, the cessation of hostilities and starting infrastructure rehabilitation works in the country’s southeastern regions to prevent winter deaths.

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