The Russian President resumed his attacks against Western countries for their “empty” promises to not expand NATO in former Soviet countries and ignoring Russian interests
The crisis in Ukraine was caused by the West, declared Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, for an Egyptian newspaper, while working on Franco-German proposals for the ceasefire between Kiev and the pro-Russian rebels.
At the beginning of his visit in Egypt, President Vladimir Putin resumed his attacks against the West for their “empty” promises to not expand NATO in former Soviet countries and ignoring Russian interests, according to BBC News Online.
There have been attempts to snatch states that belonged to the USSR from Russia and to determine them to make an artificial choice „between Russia and Europe”. (…) We have repeatedly warned the US and its Western allies about the harmful consequences of their interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine, but they did not listen to us
Vladimir Putin
Putin accused Western countries for supporting “a coup d’état in Kiev”, a reference to the ousting of President Viktor Ianukovich in 2014.
His comments intervene amid new hopes to conclude a peace agreement on Wednesday, while Russia still denies the accusations that it sent soldiers and weapons to the rebels.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine has caused the death of over 5.300 people and determined another 1.5 million to leave their homes. At least two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the previous 24 hours, according to officials, while fighting was intense around the city of Debaltseve, near Donetsk.
On Monday in Washington, German Chancellor Angela Merkel informed US President Barack Obama about the peace plan which Germany and France have tried to conclude with Ukraine and Russia.
Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are leading the efforts to revive the peace plan in Minsk, abandoned amid the fighting in the winter. Details regarding the proposals of the two leaders were not published, but the plan would include the establishing of a demilitarized zone of 50-70km around the current front lines.
O.C.