Moscow has reiterated its advocacy of the federalization of Ukraine, insisting that this would guarantee "lasting peace."
“We assume that the constitutional handover of powers on a wide range of governance issues from central authorities to regional and local level on the basis of federalization principles helps consolidate modern multiethnic states. In effect, this means democratic development in keeping with the requirements of the times. Anything else may set off acute crisis situations. The status quo in Ukraine, especially in its southeastern regions, is an example of such a crisis. A substantial national dialogue and constitutional reforms with the full-scale participation of the entire society and all the regions is imperative for lasting peace in the country,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a commentary on Thursday’s independence referendum in Scotland.
“We see the referendum in Scotland, in the course of which the majority of the region’s population voted for it to remain part of the United Kingdom, as a purely internal matter of Britain, but we naturally followed the voting by the Scots with interest,” the ministry said.
“We believe that compliance with current international standards of electoral law, namely free, democratic and transparent expression of will, is essential in this context. We presume that the British government has paid necessary attention to all these aspects,” it said.
“One more noteworthy point has been highlighted by the referendum – the understandable and natural desire of the people of Scotland to see the central government as guarantor of respect for their ethnic, cultural and language identity and their traditions, and to have more independence in making decisions on the social and economic development of the region and its status within the unified state. Let us note that the British government has made concrete promises to put that into reality. We believe that these are important factors, and not only in relation to developments in Scotland but also in a broader context of devolutionary processes,” the ministry said.
