© RT
Russia is not going to go to war with the people of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. When asked by journalists whether he is concerned about the fact that sending Russian troops to Ukraine may trigger a war, Putin said: "No, I am not concerned about that because we are not going and will not go to war with the people of Ukraine."
The tense situation in Crimea, in which the use of the armed forces was possible, is gone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "The tense situation in Crimea with the possible use of the armed forces has simply expired. There was no such need," Putin told reporters in Novo-Ogaryovo on Tuesday.
Russia will extend financial assistance to Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. "We have made a decision to arrange Russian regions' work in order to provide certain assistance to Crimea, which has sought our humanitarian support," Putin said at a meeting with journalists on Tuesday.
"I cannot tell you how much [aid money will be provided], when and from what sources. The government is tackling these issues by promoting ties between our border regions and Crimea and possibly extending additional support to our regions in order to enable them to support the residents of Crimea. We are certainly taking these steps," he said.
Russia considers threats as counterproductive, harmful, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
If Russia decides to use armed forces in Ukraine it will fully comply with int'l law, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Current authorities in Kiev do not hold nationwide mandate to conduct domestic, foreign and economic policies or determine future of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Russia reserves right to use 'all means' to protect citizens in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
He added that the "Crimeans must have equal rights to decide the fate of Ukraine."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said there is currently no need to send Russian troops to Ukraine. "As to the sending of troops, there is currently no such need," Putin told reporters. "However, there is such a possibility," he said. ussian forces may be used in Ukraine under extreme circumstances only, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Novo-Ogaryovo on Tuesday. "What can be the justification for using the armed forces? Certainly, extreme circumstances," he said.
"We are not going to go to war with Ukrainian people. Iff we make this decision we will make it in order to protect Ukrainian people. How can army shoot at innocent people?" Vladimir Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says power in Ukraine was seized by arms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the revolution in Ukraine "an anti-constitutional coup and an armed seizure of power."
"There's no denying it. The question is why it has been done," he added.
"Are the current authorities legitimate? Parliament partially yes. The rest are not. From the legal point of view it's Yanukovych who is the legal president, said Vladimir Putin. "The main thing is to give people the right to decide their fate."
Yanukovych is legitimate president of Ukraine, although he has no power - Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that Viktor Yanukovych remains the one-and-only legitimate president of Ukraine, although he has effectively lost any real power in the country.
"Clearly, he has no power, but I have already said and want to say it once again that, unconditionally, Yanukovych alone is the legitimate president from a judicial standpoint," Putin said at a meeting with journalists in Novo-Ogaryovo on Tuesday.
By scrapping the 21 February accords, the Ukrainian opposition has yielded an opposite result, shaking the situation, said President Vladimir Putin. "They wanted to humiliate their opponents and demonstrate force. This is stupid, in my opinion. The result was the opposite of expectations. They have only managed to shake the east and southeast of the country," Putin told reporters
Ukrainian people wanted change, but 'illegal change' cannot be encouraged, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said.
Ukraine has seen an anti-constitutional coup and a power grab, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Tuesday. "The opinion is about what has happened in Kyiv and in Ukraine as a whole. There can be only one opinion - this is an anti-constitutional coup and a power grab," Putin said.
very early this morning. Putin also said that "Neo-Nazi fascists and anti-semites" are the ones responsible for the coup. That info has been all over the internet, but not made public over traditional media. Rachel Maddow's show also discussed Angela Merkel's phone call with Putin, after which Merkel declared him to be "not living in reality" and intimated he's crazy. I bet he told her about the Neo-nazis and she told him he was nuts to believe it. However, if Putin stamps out the beginnings of Neo-Nazism in the middle of the Eurasian continent, shouldn't the world consider him a hero? Personally, it's one of the few legitimate reasons I can think of for him to invade Crimea. Putin said that Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine requested his help to stop the violence, and that's why he stepped in. He was calm, relaxed and matter-of-fact during the rather long press conference, that was being translated into English as it happened. I am grateful I got to see it live before the media and its talking heads twisted and manipulated his words to their own nefarious agendas.