“No, there was nothing of the like. We were discussing issues tied with the renewal of the economy and social sphere in Donbass where there are many problems,” Putin said during a Q&A session in Moscow.
Earlier in April, the Russian edition of Forbes magazine website reported, citing an unnamed source, that Putin, during a closed-door meeting with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Management Bureau on March 19, mentioned that Poroshenko offered him to "take" Donbass.
The proposal was reportedly made during the February 11-12 Normandy Format meeting on Ukrainian reconciliation that took place in the Belarusian capital of Minsk between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
The head of RSPP Alexander Shokhin said that the rumor about the content of the two leaders' conversation was false. Poroshenko also dismissed the reports on the transfer of Donbass to Russia.
Putin on Poroshenko: You Can’t Choose Your Political Partners
In relations with foreign partners, politicians should be guided by their country’s interests, not personal attitudes, Vladimir Putin said when asked about partnership with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
"We can’t choose our partners. In our work, we should be guided by our country’s interests, not by personal likes and dislikes.”
Russian president added that relations of equal partnership with Moscow and respect to Russian speakers in Ukraine are the only things that Russia wants from Kiev.
On April 13, 2014, Kiev launched a military operation in the country’s southeast to crack down on independence supporters who refused to recognize the coup-imposed government in Kiev.
Clashes in Donbas have killed over 6,000 people and displaced more than a million since the civil war began, according to UN estimates.
