Speaking at a press conference following the Russia-European Union summit in The Hague, President Vladimir Putin said that the parties involved in Ukraine’s election dispute should take their claims to court. Mr Putin appealed to the international community not to push Ukraine towards mass unrest. The President said he firmly believed that it would be unacceptable to allow settling such disputes through unrest in the streets to become a normal part of international life. Disputes of this sort should be settled through constitutional means.
The Ukrainian presidential election does not depend on recognition from outside but is the affair of the Ukrainian people themselves, Mr Putin noted. Everyone realises that Ukraine is in the centre of Europe and will build normal and friendly relations with all its neighbours, the President said.