Russia has been working to prevent war in Ukraine since 2014.
(Baonghean.vn) - Russian President's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has made every effort to prevent war and protect the rights of the people in the Donbass region during the coup in Ukraine and the rise of nationalists to power.
Peskov said: "When the coup took place in Ukraine in 2014, and it was exactly a coup, and when the nationalists started to raise their heads there, and when the people of Donbass didn't want to live with them, when they realized that the power of the nationalists was emerging, it was a very difficult time."
According to Peskov, "Russia (at that time) did everything possible to prevent war, to achieve a peaceful solution to this problem and to protect the rights of Donbass, as well as the people of Donbass, through political and diplomatic means."
The Russian President's press secretary emphasized that the Minsk agreement, signed on February 12, 2015, was considered the foundation for resolving the situation in Donbass. However, Kyiv has prolonged the peace process for years and refused to implement the agreement, subsequently declaring that it would not accept the political content of the agreement package, and refusing direct dialogue with the Donbass republics.
Furthermore, Peskov stated that Russia has finally overcome the economic recession caused by Western sanctions and can now gradually accelerate the development of its economy. Peskov noted that, according to all predictions, Russia should have "fallen into an abyss both economically and socially" after the sanctions were imposed, but this did not happen.
Peskov stated: "We have emerged from the crisis, and our prospects for rapid development are in line with current standards. This is an exceptional situation. You will study how this was possible and where our country and our people found such strength."
According to Peskov, one of the factors that helped Russia resist large-scale sanctions pressure was the patriotism and solidarity of its people. After Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine last year, Western countries imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow, targeting the banking sector, public debt, energy, and other industries.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by more than 2% this year, a growth rate that will fully offset last year's economic slowdown. However, he warned that Western sanctions could still have a negative impact in the medium term. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stressed in April that Western countries, particularly the European Union (EU), have exhausted their options for sanctions that could harm Russia.
