Tehran comments on Russia’s decision to recognize the republics of Luhansk and Donetsk

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh commented on the recent developments in Ukraine, stressing that “Tehran is following up issues related to this country with sensitivity.”

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The Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran calls on all parties to exercise restraint, and believes in the need to avoid any action that would escalate tensions.”

Khatibzadeh called on all parties to “work towards settling differences through dialogue and in a peaceful framework,” adding: “NATO’s interventions and provocative actions led by the United States further complicated the situation in that region.”

This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed, on Monday, two decrees stipulating Russia’s recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics from Ukraine against the backdrop of an ongoing military-political crisis in the Donbas region (where the two republics are located) since 2014.

Putin said, in a speech on this occasion, that “the situation in Donbass has become acute and dangerous again,” considering that the people of the region are being subjected to “genocide” by “the nationalist regime in Kiev that seized power as a result of the 2014 coup,” accusing Him that he has repeatedly stressed his lack of intention to abide by the Minsk agreements to settle the dispute diplomatically.

This move (recognizing the independence of the two republics) was widely criticized by Western countries, who considered it a “violation of international law and the sovereignty of Ukraine”, claiming that Russia was preparing for an “imminent invasion of Ukrainian territory”.

Source: RT

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