Russia "respects will of people in Donetsk and Lugansk"

Russia "respects will of people in Donetsk and Lugansk"

“Moscow respects the expression of will of the population of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and proceeds on the basis that the implementation of the results of the referendums will be carried out in a civilized way, without any relapse of violence, through dialogue between representatives of Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk,” the statement says.

“In the interests of building such dialogue any mediation efforts, including through the OSCE, are welcome,” the Russian president’s press service said, and added: “Russia closely watched preparations and the holding of the referendums in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions. We mark a high voter turnout despite attempts to disrupt the vote."

Moscow also denounced the use of force “including the use of heavy armament against civilians, which lead to casualties,” the press service said.

Earlier in the day, Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the president "will formulate a position on the referendum held in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk based on the strength of these results."

What that decision will be is "difficult to predict," said Peskov, as reported by the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

Asked whether Putin's attitude will be affected by the fact that he himself had asked the supporters federalization in eastern Ukraine to postpone the referendum, Peskov said that the Russian president "did not make a demand, but a recommended."

"However, it was difficult to heed the recommendation, even with the huge influence of the Russian president. With regard to the real combat situation, people (there) had to act according to their plan in relation to the current situation," said Peskov.

The U.S. and EU have said they do not recognize the results of the referendum and warned they would introduce economic sanctions against Russia if the Ukrainian presidential elections, scheduled for May 25, are threatened because of the vote in the east of Ukraine.

Peskov said the remarks of the U.S. and the EU at the expense of Russia were "absolute nonsense".

"Why could the West not prevent the use of weapons in Slavyansk and Krematorsk and the killing of civilians? They did not use their influence nor do they care, while Russia is blamed for everything," said Peskov.

Pro-Russian forces in the Donetsk region of Ukraine declared victory in the referendum held on Sunday, as nearly 90 percent of those who turned out voted in favor of independence.

According to unofficial results, the turnout was 89 percent in Donetsk, and 96 percent in Lugansk.