Russia’s Putin slams West over backing 'coup d'etat' in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has strongly criticized the West's support for 'a coup d'etat' in Ukraine in 2014, blaming it for the bloodshed that plagued the country.
"Why support a coup d'etat in Ukraine? ... It is likely that the opposition, which is currently in power, would have come to power by democratic means," Putin said at a question and answer session during the the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016 (SPIEF 2016) on Friday.
The Russian president blamed the way Ukraine’s pro-Russian president was toppled for the bloodshed and ensuing violence.
Putin further said the ‘coup’ had scared the Russian-speaking people in the Crimean Peninsula and southeastern Ukraine.
Russia-West ties have been strained since Crimea joined Russia in a referendum in March 2014.
Crimean people voted to join Russia after rejecting the Western-backed government that took over power in Kiev in February 2014.
The United States and its European allies accuse Moscow of destabilizing Ukraine. Moscow, however, rejects having a hand in the crisis gripping the Eastern European state.
Ukraine's eastern provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April 2014 to crush pro-Moscow protests there.
The crisis has left more than 9,000 people dead and over 20,000 others injured, according to the United Nations.
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