PThe first deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, became the curator of relations with the LPR and the DPR in the Kremlin. Previously, the Department for cross-border cooperation subordinated to Dmitry Kozak was responsible for interaction with them
Sergey Kiriyenko
Change of curator
The first deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, who is responsible for the work of the internal political bloc, became the curator of relations with the LPR and the DPR instead of Dmitry Kozak. Five sources close to the Kremlin told RBC about this. Now, the Department for Internal Policy (OIA) is responsible for working with the LPR and the DPR, not the Department for cross-border cooperation subordinated to Kozak, but the Department for Internal Policy (OIA), all five sources told RBC.
The scope of work of the Department of Internal Affairs, among other things, includes interaction with Russian regions, all of them have their own curators. Currently, a new department is being created in the Department of Internal Affairs, which will be responsible for interaction with the LPR and the DPR, said one of the sources of RBC. According to another source, the department has been formed and those responsible for working with the republics have been appointed.
One of the interlocutors of RBC says that the change of the curator indicates at least a special order of interaction with the republics and the creation of a single internal political space, as a maximum – the consideration of the scenario of the possible entry of the republics into Russia. Another interlocutor explains that the alignment on curatorship has changed, since Kozak was responsible for the negotiations on the implementation of the Minsk agreements, “which ended with what is known.”
Last week it became known that Kiriyenko visited Donetsk, where he met with the heads of the DPR and LPR. The first to report this was the Telegram channel WarGonzo, which is led by military journalist Semyon Pegov. According to the channel, Kiriyenko visited Donbass accompanied by the head of the Department of Internal Affairs Andrei Yarin and employees of the Kremlin’s internal political bloc.
The trip of Kremlin officials to Donbass was “presentation, familiarization”, three interlocutors of RBC tell.It was necessary to personally get acquainted with those people with whom the internal political bloc will have to work in the future, one of them explained.
Background of the issue
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The topic of the possible annexation of the LPR and DPR to Russia was first raised at a meeting of the Security Council on February 21, although Vladimir Putin suggested discussing the possibility of recognizing the independence of the territories. The head of the SVR, Sergei Naryshkin, said in his speech: “I support the proposal for the Donetsk and Lugansk republics to join Russia.” “We are not talking about it, we are not discussing it, we are talking about recognizing their independence or not,” the president corrected him. “I support the proposal to recognize independence,” Naryshkin clarified.
On the same day, the head of state announced that he had made a decision to recognize the independence of the LPR and the DPR, and the next day, on February 22, the State Duma and the Federation Council ratified treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with the republics. Later, Putin said that Russia recognized the independence of the LPR and the DPR within the borders of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, since their Constitution prescribesthe borders within the Donetsk and Luhansk regions at the time when they were part of Ukraine. “We expect, and I emphasize this, that all contentious issues will be resolved during negotiations between the current Kiev authorities and the leadership of these republics,” the president added.
A day later, early in the morning of February 24, Putin announced the start of a special military operation in Ukraine.
On March 27, the head of the LPR Leonid Pasechnik announced the possibility of holding a referendum on the republic’s accession to Russia, but a few hours later clarified that the LPR authorities are now busy with the liberation of territories, and holding a referendum is possible only after that.
On March 29, the possibility of joining Russia was already announced by the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin. According to him, the republic will also consider the relevant issue after the liberation of its entire territory.
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