Putin reiterated,
"Crimea gained independence not as a result of the invasion of Russian
troops, but through the will of the people of Crimea expressed in an open
referendum".
VIENNA, June 4.
/TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would not cede Crimea
to Ukraine under any circumstances. At the same time, he said in an interview
with Austria’s ORF broadcasting corporation in the run-up to his visit to
Austria.
"When an
unconstitutional armed coup happened in Ukraine, power was seized by force, our
army was legally in Crimea, our military base was there under an
agreement," Putin said. He drew attention to the fact that "Russian
army was always present in Crimea."
"The first thing
we did was to increase our contingent to protect our Armed Forces there, our
military facilities, where, as we have seen, various assaults and encroachments
were in preparation. That is how it all began," Putin said. "Our
servicemen were always there. Like I said before - they were there, they did
not participate in anything," he said.
"However, when
the spiral of unconstitutional actions in Ukraine began twisting, when people
in Crimea thought they were in danger, when nationalists were sent there by
trains, started blocking buses and road transport, people wanted to protect
themselves," Putin said. "This is how everything began, the process
started in the parliament of Crimea to determine its independence from
Ukraine," he added. The president noted that the UN Charter does not
prohibit these actions, but on the contrary, "the right of nations to
self-determination is explicitly stated" there.
"At this point,
our Armed Forces, which did not even exceed the base’s number under the
agreement … ensured independent free elections - the will of people living in
Crimea," Putin said. He noted, "The decision to hold this referendum
was made by the Crimean parliament, which was elected in full compliance with
the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine before the events."
"Therefore,
there was nothing illegal", the Russian president said.
Putin reiterated,
"Crimea gained independence not as a result of the invasion of Russian
troops, but through the will of the people of Crimea expressed in an open
referendum." In his opinion, a referendum held by the people living in a
certain territory cannot be called annexation.
Putin talked about
Kosovo as an example, wondering why Kosovo leaving Serbia is called
self-determination, rather than annexation. "The people of Kosovo did it
only by the decision of the parliament, and the people of Crime did it through
referendum, which was attended by over 90% of the people living in Crimea, and
about the same number of people - around 90% - voted for independence, and then
for joining Russia," he said. "Is this not democracy? What is it
then? And then what is democracy?" Putin asked.
He unequivocally
answered the question about possible conditions under which Russia could cede
Crimea, "There are no such conditions and there cannot be any."
Source: ITAR-TASS
05-06-2018
