MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - The Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions are an integral part of the Russian Federation and their placing under Moscow's control is not a condition for ending the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Reporters asked Peskov whether "placing four territories - the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions - under Moscow's condition is a mandatory condition for ending the conflict."
"This wording is completely incorrect: these regions are an integral part of the Russian Federation. So, it's impossible to raise the question this way," Peskov said.