UK should accommodate Putin in Ukraine: Tory MP
British Tory MP Edward Leigh Wed Sep 3, 2014 2:28PM GMT Britain should “accommodate” Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine as the country is “part of the Russian soul”, a senior Tory MP says. Edward Leigh, former trade minister, said Wednesday Ukraine has been “part of Russia” for nearly all its history; thus, the British government should accommodate with Moscow to resolve the crisis. "The fact is that for all of its history, bar a couple of years in the 1920s, and since 1990, Ukraine has been part of Russia. It's not just power politics, to the average Russian, the source of their country – the Kievan Rus’ - comes from Kiev in the middle of Ukraine,” said Leigh. In addition, Leigh said Britain should deal with Putin, adding it was “inconceivable” that Russia would move against the Baltic states. Russians “consider that Ukraine is as much a part of the Russian soul as we consider Canterbury or Kent is part of our soul,” said Leigh, adding, “So this isn't some power grab by the Russians to take over the rest of Europe.” The comments by the Conservative MP comes as Prime Minister David Cameron <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/09/03/377573/uk-must-work-with-russia-over-ukraine/> has threatened to “permanently” damage the Russian economy <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/09/03/377573/uk-must-work-with-russia-over-ukraine/> with sanctions over its alleged involvement in the crisis in Ukraine. Western governments, including the UK, accuse Russia of fueling the crisis in east Ukraine <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/09/03/377573/uk-must-work-with-russia-over-ukraine/> , but Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and criticized its Western neighbor for the heavy crackdown on the pro-Russia protesters in the region. Since Kiev launched military operations to silence the pro-Russia protesters in mid-April, Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the country’s east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army. Violence intensified <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/09/03/377573/uk-must-work-with-russia-over-ukraine/> in May after the two flashpoint <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/09/03/377573/uk-must-work-with-russia-over-ukraine/> regions of Donetsk and Lugansk held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine. CAH/AB http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/09/03/377573/uk-must-work-with-russia-over-ukraine/
