By IRNA,
Berlin : Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged the European Union to take up a “rational” stance on the Georgian conflict and refrain from imposing sanctions on his country ahead of the EU emergency summit in Brussels on Monday.
Speaking to the German ARD broadcasting network late Friday evening, Putin said, “We are not indifferent to the issue of sanctions. We hope that rationality prevails.”
The Russian leader stressed his country had no long-term intention of keeping its troops in the security zone around the Georgian rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia – both of which declared their independence from Georgia earlier this week.
Putin expressed support for the deployment of military monitors from the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Georgia.
The Russian prime minister called also for the “immediate resignation” of western-backed Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili for starting the Caucasus war.
Putin strongly denied reports about imminent plans for a military attack on Ukraine, branding it a “provocation”.
“We have recognized Ukraine’s borders for a long time,” he said.