The Russian Federation could welcome more territories in the future, former President Dmitry Medvedev said at the United Russia party congress on December 14.
Commenting on the ruling party's efforts to help integrate and develop new regions that have joined the country, Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of the National Security Council and head of the United Russia party, said that this experience could one day come in handy, RT reported.
“This experience can be applied in the future if new regions very close to us appear in our country, because this is possible,” he noted.
In 2022, four former Ukrainian territories, including the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, held public referendums in which they decided to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia.
Previously, in 2014, the people of Crimea also voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia.
Western countries supporting Kiev refuse to recognize the legitimacy of these referendums; Ukraine continues to claim authority over the aforementioned territories and insists on regaining them all.
However, Moscow has repeatedly urged Kiev to accept the new realities “on the ground”. President Vladimir Putin called the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from all Russian territories an important prerequisite for peace talks.
