Former president Viktor Yanukovych has said that Donbas should remain part of Ukraine.
Yanukovych was speaking at a press conference in Rostov-on-Don (Russia), Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"I opposed violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity from the beginning... I believe that Donbas should be part of Ukraine," he said.
Yanukovych stressed that he considered the attempt to separate Donbas from Ukraine as an emotional impulse by people who were responding the Euromaidan events in Kyiv.
At the same time, Yanukovych has said that Donetsk and Luhansk regions should be granted broad autonomy.
"Today, it is practically impossible to resolve this issue (the territorial integrity of Ukraine) without granting broad autonomy to this region," he said.
According to him, Ukraine's territorial integrity must be respected.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Yanukovych has said that the issue of return to Ukrainian politics is not a priority for him.
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