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Kremlin: Putin’s decision on citizenship for Ukrainians is well-reasoned

18 July 2019 15:15 (UTC +04:00)

Ukraine’s plan to grant second citizenship to all ethnic Ukrainians is the country’s internal affair, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, APA reports citing ITAR-TASS.

"The Russian president’s decision to extend a fast-track citizenship offer to all residents of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions is Russia’s internal affair," he said.

According to Peskov, the Ukrainian president’s instruction to develop a mechanism to grant second citizenship to all ethnic Ukrainians from friendly countries is "Ukraine’s internal affair." "And the decisions that the President [Vladimir Putin] formalized in his decree are Russia’s domestic affair," Peskov noted.

"You know, there was a large number or requests from these regions [the Donetsk and Lugansk regions] of Ukraine, as well as from residents of the self-proclaimed republics, this matter was raised during [Vladimir Putin’s] recent question and answer session, it was long overdue. This is why President Putin’s decision is quite well-reasoned and understandable," Peskov emphasized.