Russia respects the results of the last weekend's elections held in the insurgent-controlled areas in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Friday.

"Russia's official position has been expressed in the Foreign Ministry's statement, where the word 'respects' was used," Ushakov told reporters, stressing that there is a difference between "respect" and "recognize."

"These are two different words. The word 'respect' has been chosen deliberately. We respect the position of the voters," Interfax news agency quoted Ushakov as saying.

Moscow stands for continuation of the peace process which has started at the Minsk meeting in September, but not everything is depended on Russia as many factors have influence on that process, according to Ushakov.

Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin also on Friday urged all sides to "take a responsible approach" and resume talks in Geneva format to solve the Ukraine crisis.

Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky have been elected on Monday "presidents" of the two self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics respectively after controversial "presidential and parliamentary elections," which Kiev deemed illegitimate. Endi

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