MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) – The leadership of the Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine does not rule out the possibility of a referendum on joining Russia, said Vasiliy Nikitin, a representative of the region’s self-defense forces.
“The critical issues must be discussed by the people of the Luhansk People’s Republic. In case of such decision [to hold a referendum on joining Russia], the will of the people will be implemented,” Nikitin said Monday.
Earlier reports indicated that over 96 percent of people who voted in the self-rule referendum on Sunday opted for the region’s independence from Ukraine, a member of the Luhansk Election Committee said.
Nikitin earlier said the Luhansk People’s Republic could campaign for international recognition at the United Nations.
On Sunday, residents in Ukraine’s southeastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions went to the polls in a self-rule referendum, with ballots in Ukrainian and Russian asking whether voters supported the acts of state self-determination of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
In the Luhansk region, voter turnout was over 79 percent, with the turnout in the regional capital exceeding 76 percent.
Central Election Committee Chairman Roman Lyasin said the results of the Luhansk referendum were still pending, but photo and video footage from the area showed long queues in front of makeshift polling stations, with exit polls claiming the independence bid was on its way to a resounding victory.
The Kremlin said in a statement Monday it respected the will of the people in Ukraine’s southeast and urged the regime in Kiev to do the same. Moscow said it condemned "the use of force including military hardware against peaceful citizens which led to deaths" during the referendums.
