TASHKENT. May 28 (Interfax) - If Ukraine was led by people guided by its national interests, a solution to the conflict could be found, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a press conference at the end of his visit to Uzbekistan on Tuesday when asked what he thought about the remarks made by his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, who suggested the Ukrainian military join the conversation on the Ukrainian crisis.
"Unfortunately, Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] does not yet command the military in Ukraine. If he was in command, we would have ended that conflict long ago, and to mutual satisfaction at that. We would find a solution with Ukraine if the country was now commanded by people guided by national interests, not by the interests of their bosses in Europe or across the ocean," Putin said.