(CNSNews.com) – During his 90-minute phone conversation with President Obama on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted that Russian military intervention in Ukraine could go beyond Crimea, the region now under effectively occupied by Russia.
That’s according to the Kremlin’s brief account of the phone call, initiated by Obama.
“Vladimir Putin stressed that in case of any further spread of violence to Eastern Ukraine and Crimea, Russia retains the right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population of those areas,” it said.
Roughly one-third of Ukraine as a whole is considered Russia-leaning, an area about ten times bigger than Crimea. Those are the regions where a majority voted for the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovich – now former president – in the 2010 election, and where most first-language Russian speakers live.
In key cities in those areas, pro-Russian demonstrators rallied on Saturday, denouncing the new Western-leaning government in Kiev and calling on Moscow to intervene. Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency said Russian flags were flying over local government buildings in Kharkhiv, Donetsk and Odessa, among other eastern cities.
The Kremlin readout of the phone call said Putin had drawn Obama’s “attention to the provocative and criminal actions on the part of ultra-nationalists who are in fact being supported by the current authorities in Kiev.”
“The Russian president spoke of a real threat to the lives and health of Russian citizens and the many compatriots who are currently on Ukrainian territory,” it said.
Putin also mentioned eastern Ukraine beyond Crimea in a phone conversation with U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.
“Vladimir Putin noted that in case of any escalation of violence against the Russian-speaking population of the eastern regions of Ukraine and Crimea, Russia would not be able to stay away and would resort to whatever measures are necessary in compliance with international law,” his office said in a statement. Keep Reading
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