Duma demands from Vladimir Putin the recognition of the independence of the two Ukrainian regions from Russia

The lower house of Russia’s parliament voted to appeal to President Vladimir Putin to recognize separatist entities in eastern Ukraine, potentially raising tensions in the region.

Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the resolution will be sent to the president “immediately.” The Kremlin so far hasn’t publicly stated its position on the proposal. The Duma rejected a draft proposed by the ruling United Russia party to send the resolution to the Foreign Ministry for consideration.

Russia has supported the breakaway quasi-states of the so-called People’s Republics in Donetsk and Luhansk militarily and financially since their formation in 2014. Officially it denies any armed support and backs a peace plan that calls for their reintegration into Ukraine. Recognition could complicate or scuttle efforts to implement that pact and potentially pave the way for Moscow to openly supply more weapons to the republics, something the ruling party has already proposed.

Following this action, the Russian currency has marked a sharp decline. Currently the ruble against the US dollar is trading at 75.5 from 74.3 that was yesterday./The Geopost/