Moscow, April 17 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday urged Ukrainian authorities to begin a dialogue between the eastern and southeastern regions.
"It's time for Ukrainian authorities to start a dialogue with these regions' population, release inmates and find the solution via negotiation," Putin said.
He reiterated that Moscow sees the forced ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych by the Ukrainian parliament as an "anti-constitutional coup," Xinhua reported.
Putin accused Ukraine of neglecting to address the ouster that took place in Feb, and of committing "another crime by using tanks and aviation against civilians."
He said that Russia had to take certain measures to "protect people from any possibility the Ukrainian forces will be used against them."
The self defence forces in eastern Ukraine could be disarmed only after the Ukrainian armed forces leave the area and the far right movements hand over their weapons, Putin noted.
Commenting on the current election campaign in Ukraine, Putin said if it continues to take place in such "unacceptable forms," Russia will not be able to recognise the legitimacy of Ukraine's upcoming presidential polls.
"What legitimate elections are you talking about if candidates from the east are being beaten and pelted with ink all the time, and are not being allowed to meet their voters? What kind of election campaign are you talking about?" Putin said.
According to him, a settlement of the situation in southeast Ukraine could be reached only via compromise.
"The issue should be settled by means of a compromise and of guarantees of legal interests of those people," Putin said, adding that agreements should be reached with those "who claim to be the power in Kiev" and negotiations should be based on current situations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty March 18 to make Crimea part of Russian territory, with almost 97 percent of voters on the peninsula backing secession from Ukraine in a referendum.
Earlier this week, Kiev started military operations against the pro-Russia militants who seized government buildings in eastern Ukrainian towns.
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