“Odessa is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
As you know, Odessa was founded by Catherine II, ”RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.
Putin added that even supporters of nationalist ideas do not dare to demolish the monument to the empress in the city.
“Odessa can be both a bone of contention, and a symbol of conflict resolution, and a symbol of finding some solution to everything that is happening now,” the Russian leader stressed.
Putin also agreed with the statement that the situation in Ukraine can be called partly a civil war.