The Duma will request the independence of the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk

Russian legislators have just agreed on two variants of the text that will be discussed tomorrow within the Council of the State Duma (Lower House of the Russian Parliament) to send to President Vladimir Putin with the request that he recognize the independence of the rebel republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (Donbass), both integrated into the territory of Ukraine in accordance with the UN and International Law, as was already done in relation to the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008.

Sources consulted by the RIA-Nóvosti agency maintain that, after the previous debate in the Duma Council, two possible variants of the document have been approved: «The first consists of adopting a draft resolution with a direct appeal to the Head of State on the need to recognize the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic immediately and the second to submit its text beforehand to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other levels of the Government to obtain the pertinent comments and consider its approval taking into account the positions expressed».

Opting for one or the other version would have some influence on the timetable for its implementation, but it will not change the initiative, since both the Russian Foreign Ministry and the country’s government as a whole have repeatedly suggested the convenience of Donetsk and Lugansk become independent states. Either to later be annexed by Russia, as happened in March 2014 in the case of Crimea, or to become Moscow’s protectorates, as has been the case of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In fact, Moscow has long distributed Russian passports, more than 100,000 according to the local press, among the inhabitants of Donbass, whom they consider their citizens.

According to the president of the Duma, Viacheslav Volodin, members of United Russia, the Kremlin party, consultations on the wording of the request to Putin between the various parliamentary groups ended last Friday. The idea of ​​promoting the recognition of Donetsk and Lugansk, something that in Kiev they consider “adding more fuel to the fire”, started almost a month ago from the deputies of the Communist Party of Russia (KPRF), but was immediately supported by the rest of the the parties present in the Chamber.

Volodin, whose parliamentary faction is the majority in the chamber, reiterated on Friday that the measure is necessary, since, he pointed out, “Kiev ignores the Minsk agreements”, whose seventh anniversary was celebrated on Saturday, February 12. Both he and the spokesmen for the rest of the parties pointed out that “the safety of our citizens and compatriots must be guaranteed” in Donbass.

After Georgia tried to recover South Ossetia by force, in August 2008, Moscow sent troops to the area, defeated the Georgian forces and recognized the independence of that enclave and also of Abkhazia. Subsequently, as independent states, it concluded with them two “military cooperation” agreements, which allowed the deployment of the Russian Army in their respective territories. De facto, South Ossetia and Abkhazia are currently Russian protectorates, where Georgia does not exercise any influence. Exactly the same thing could happen with Donetsk and Lugansk.