MOSCOW. Feb 16 (Interfax) - The recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) People's Republics does not correlate with the need to fulfill the Minsk Package of Measures, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Obviously, their recognition does not correlate with the Minsk Agreements. This is really so," Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
Journalists asked whether the republics would not be recognized as long as the Kremlin pledged commitment to the Minsk Agreements.
"The president said that the fulfillment of the Minsk Package of Measures was the primary objective," Peskov said.
As to whether the rules require a written response of Putin to the State Duma's call for recognition of the LPR and the DPR, Peskov said, "There are no strict rules. The president has received the address and has taken it into account. Indeed, the address is a highly illustrative demonstration of the attitude of our deputies and the prevailing public sentiment. The president underscored, however, that the main objective was to help settle the situation in the southeast [of Ukraine], and the only way to do it is to promote the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures. This is what the president will focus on."
The State Duma passed a resolution on Tuesday to declare the need for recognizing the DPR and the LPR in a statement urgently sent to the Russian president.