You're reading: Putin: Demanding disarmament from Ukrainian separatists is senseless

Russian President Vladimir Putin considers it senseless to demand that the illegal armed groups in the southeastern part of Ukraine disarm while Ukrainian radical forces are still armed.

 “It’s necessary not to demand disarmament, especially as regards the eastern part of Ukraine, especially considering that the radical forces, like Right Sector and other radicals, are still not disarmed, although there’s been a lot of talk about this and promises that these in fact illegal groups would lay down arms. They haven’t laid down arms, and they have still not even vacated Maidan,” Putin said at a press conference in Vienna on Tuesday.

“In my view, demanding in these conditions that the militiamen lay down their arms is senseless,” he added.

“Recalling what happened in Odesa, they [the militiamen] reply: ‘We lay down our arms today, and we’ll all be burned alive tomorrow,” he said.

At the same time, Putin said the proposal on a ceasefire and negotiations is right.

“We – Russia and I as the head of the Russian state – want to create conditions for its peace process. This is what prompted me to ask the upper chamber of the Russian parliament to rescind the resolution on the right to use the armed forces in Ukraine,” he said.

At the same time, the Russian leader said he expected that “the peace process would develop toward solving issues on legitimate rights of the citizens living in the eastern part” of Ukraine.

“It is necessary to talk about amendments to the constitution, about how the people will live there, and how their rights will be guaranteed,” Putin said.