Approval for Russian military intervention in Ukraine revoked

MOSCOW - The upper house of Russia's parliament voted Wednesday to revoke a resolution approving military intervention in Ukraine at the request of President Vladimir Putin.

The issue was discussed in a Federation Council plenary meeting, with Putin's request being carried 153 votes to one.

The decision was "a goodwill gesture" made to facilitate the negotiation process in Ukraine, said Viktor Ozerov, head of the Council's Defense and Security Committee.

He also stressed that, if needed, the Federation Council would reconsider the use of forces to prevent further deterioration of the situation in Ukraine.

"We hope positive signals that the Russian president is sending will be heard in the world, especially in Ukraine," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said earlier.

He called on the Ukrainian government to start looking for mutually acceptable solutions to improve the situation, and to formulate a new Ukrainian constitution with regard to power decentralization in the country.

Putin said during his visit to Austria on Tuesday evening Russia wished to "create conditions" for the peace process in Ukraine. He said the decision to renounce the mandate did not mean the situation no longer mattered to Russia.

Putin asked Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko on Tuesday to scrap the March 1 resolution, which approved Putin's original request to use armed forces in Ukraine until the "political-social situation in the country is normalized."