Biden condemns Putin's decision.. America, Germany and France agree to respond
US President Joe Biden has condemned the decision of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
The White House said that "Biden strongly condemned the decision of the Russian president to allegedly recognize the 'independence' of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics of Ukraine," in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement that Germany, France and the United States had agreed to respond to Russia's decision to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
The spokesman did not mention the sanctions that Western countries will impose on Russia.
But he said Schulz spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden after a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier.
"Partners are united in their determination not to dilute their commitment to supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity," Schulz's spokesman said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two decrees requiring Russia to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics from Ukraine against the backdrop of an ongoing military-political crisis in the Donbass region since 2014. This move was widely criticized by Western countries, saying that Russia was preparing for an "imminent invasion" for Ukrainian territory.
Putin directed the forces of the Russian Defense Ministry to ensure peace in the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, and two decrees signed by Putin to recognize the two republics and published on Monday evening on the government legal information website, stipulate that the Russian armed forces carry out tasks to ensure peace in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk in response to requests by their presidents Denis Pushilin and Denis Pasechnik, and in accordance with the Agreements of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance concluded with them.
In the two decrees, Putin also directed the Russian Foreign Ministry to hold talks with the Donetsk and Luhansk authorities on establishing diplomatic relations with the two republics and to record the agreements that will be reached in this regard in appropriate documents.
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