Russia State Duma to Send Appeal to Russian President on Recognizing Donetsk, Lugansk Republics

• 02.15.2022, 17:17
•  Europe,  World

The State Duma approved a resolution at its session on Tuesday to forward to the Russian president a draft appeal by the lower house of Russia’s parliament as proposed by the Communist faction on recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), TASS reports.

The decision was supported by 351 lawmakers, with 16 votes against it and one abstention. The State Duma rejected a competing draft resolution on forwarding the appeal to the Foreign Ministry for consultations. This motion gained only 310 votes during the ranked voting.

As Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin pointed out, the resolution "will be signed immediately and forwarded to the head of state." The politician wrote on his Telegram channel that the motion would be forwarded to the Russian leader "to consider the issue of recognizing the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic as self-sustained, sovereign and independent states."

"Kiev is not fulfilling the Minsk Agreements. Our citizens and compatriots living in Donbass need assistance and support," the State Duma speaker insisted.

As Volodin pointed out, the lawmakers are certain that "the recognition of the DPR and the LPR will create grounds for ensuring security guarantees and protecting residents of the republics from external threats, and also for bolstering international peace and regional stability in compliance with the goals and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations Organization and will pave the way for the process of recognizing both states internationally."