putin
© ITAR-TASS/Alexei Nikolsky
"If somebody feels left out in the cold in this process, he will never accept this and will always fight against it," Putin noted

The new Constitution of Ukraine must be adopted in a referendum, but the decision rested with the future legitimate authorities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

"A new Constitution must be adopted, and this must be done through a referendum so that all citizens of Ukraine could feel involved in that process, the process of shaping the main principles of their state system," he said. "It is no business of ours, but the business of the Ukrainian citizens and its authorities, who are the ones to decide," Putin added.

"I think that after the government is formed, the president and the new parliament are elected, if I were in their place, I would return to the Constitution, adopting it in a referendum," he said.

"If somebody feels left out in the cold in this process, he will never accept this and will always fight against it," Putin noted, reiterating that it was no business of Russia.