Putin: Ukraine troop pullout is real
Print Edition
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin said yesterday he ordered troops to pull out from the regions near Ukraine to help create a positive environment ahead of the nation’s presidential vote, but added the continued fighting will make it hard for Moscow to deal with the winner.
The pullout announced on Monday was meant to create “favorable conditions for Ukraine’s presidential vote and end speculations,” Putin told reporters in Shanghai, where he attended a security summit.
Putin referred to US and NATO remarks that they aren’t seeing any sign of the withdrawal, saying “those who aren’t seeing it should look better.” He said the pullout will be clearly visible in satellite images.
“The numbers of troops and armor are quite large, and their pullout requires serious preparations. If the weather is good, they will see it all from space,” Putin said.
NATO, which estimates that Russia has 40,000 troops along the border with Ukraine, repeated yesterday it has not seen any signs of a Russian withdrawal.
Putin’s pullout order and his statement welcoming the election has shown that he has no immediate intention to send the Russian army into Ukraine, where pro-Russians have seized government buildings and clashed with Ukrainian government forces in weeks of fighting that has left dozens dead.
But the Russian leader said yesterday that it would have made more sense for the Ukrainian authorities to have a constitutional referendum that would approve a new constitution before the election.
“It will be very difficult for us to develop relations with people, who come to power amid a punitive operation in southeastern Ukraine,” he said.
Putin added that Russia has helped establish a dialogue between the central government in Kiev and people in the southeast. “We have done everything to help start these contacts.”
Many in eastern Ukraine resent the new authorities in Kiev, which came to power after the toppling of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president after months of protests. They see the new government as a group of nationalists bent on repressing Russian speakers.
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