MOSCOW. June 26 (Interfax) - Russia will carry on its support to southeastern Ukraine and rapidly respond to local events, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko stated.
"We will continue to defend not only ethnic Russians in Ukraine but also the part of the Ukrainian population which has an unbreakable cultural and language bond with Russia, a bond with the wide Russian world. Russia won't stop support for southeastern Ukraine and will rapidly respond to local events," Matviyenko said on Thursday at a meeting of the public committee for humanitarian aid to southeastern Ukraine.
She said it was necessary to legalize their lawful rights and interests by the Ukrainian constitution.
Russia will respond to the developments whenever that is necessary and give the utmost backing to the negotiations and the peace process, she said.
"Everything must be done to maintain the trilateral negotiating process between Russia, Kyiv and the southeast. Everything must be done to create an atmosphere of trust," Matviyenko emphasized.
The Wednesday decision of the Federation Council to repeal the permission to send Russian troops to Ukraine reaffirmed the Russian adherence to the search for ways of peaceful resolution of the crisis in the southeast, she noted.
"But it does not mean that Russia stops supporting people in the southeast as some have claimed. This is not so," the speaker said.
Negotiations should be fostered despite shortcomings of the Poroshenko plan, she said. "It is important to implement this plan and to honor the ceasefire. As we can see tensions persist in the southeast. Clashes have not stopped even though there is a ceasefire and we will do our best to bring this profound political crisis, the solution of this crisis to peace talks," Matviyenko underscored.
Russia will continue to assist in the prevention of hostilities on the Ukrainian territory, she added.