Russia: Ukrainian constitutional changes first need approval from Donbass - Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said amendments to the Ukrainian constitution "must be implemented as a result of talks and dialogue, and in coordination with Donbass - the territories of the unrecognised DPR and LPR republics," during a press conference at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Friday. Putin said amendments to the Ukrainian constitution are stipulated in the Minsk agreements but must be introduced after talks with the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics (DPR and LPR). The Ukrainian government is in the process of amending the constitution in order to give greater autonomy to the regions governed by the LPR and DPR. The Russian president also stressed that a resolution to the Ukrainian crisis "doesn't depend on us, it depends on Ukraine itself, on the Ukrainian people, on how long the Ukrainian people are willing to endure this bacchanalia." Moreover, Putin described as an "insult to the Ukrainian people" the fact that "Ukraine was put under outside control" and that foreigners hold posts in Ukrainian politics. Putin is due to hold a number of meetings and press conferences during the Eastern Economic Forum which runs until September 5 in Russia's Far East.