MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) – Viktor Yanukovych, who maintains that he is still the legitimate president of Ukraine, had fulfilled his duties as much as possible, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a live Q&A session with the public on Thursday.
“As for Viktor Yanukovych, he has fulfilled his duties as he considered possible and needed. I talked to him, of course, many times, during the crisis and after he left to Russia, and we talked about the use of force … He had thoughts to use force many times but, he told me, that he did not lift a finger to sign an order allowing the use of force against his people," Putin said during a live Q&A session on Thursday.
Putin said Yanukovych was ready to meet any demands of the opposition, including holding early presidential election in December or earlier, and reinstating the 2004 constitution, when the February coup occurred.
Moscow has described the Ukrainian crisis as an illegitimate coup and a military seizure of power, insisting that Yanukovych is the legitimate head of the country, as he remains the elected president chosen by the people of Ukraine to lead their country.
The fugitive Ukrainian leader, who fled to Russia following months of anti-government protests, has refused to run in the upcoming May 25 elections, calling them illegitimate.
