Three former Ukrainian presidents, Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, and Viktor Yuschenko, blame Russia for direct interference in Crimea's political affairs.
“Russia, which has repeatedly described attempts by our international
partners to settle the situation in a political way as interference in
Ukraine’s internal affairs, has currently resorted to direct
interference in Crimea’s political affairs,” says a joint statement by
the three former Ukrainian presidents Interfax obtained from Yuschenko’s
press secretary Iryna Vannykova.
Policymakers proposing “dangerous recipes” should feel a reaction
from the Security Service and the Prosecutor General’s Office in case
they try to implement their separatist designs in practice, the
statement says.
“Any propaganda campaign aimed at fuelling these sentiments should
also be assessed by law enforcement agencies in keeping with Ukrainian
law. Speculations on violations of the Russian-speaking population’s
rights, the fomenting of hostility between Ukrainian regions based on
their cultural and historical diversity, humiliation of the Ukrainian
language, and open disrespect for Ukraine’s state symbols should be
assessed appropriately,” the statement says.
“Russia, along with the United Kingdom and the United States, are
guarantors of Ukraine’s sovereignty in line with international
agreements. Russia’s statement on observing all of its international
legal obligations to Ukraine regardless of the parliament’s and the
government’s configuration should be confirmed by relevant actions on
Russia’s part, the demonstration of respect for the Ukrainian people’s
and the Ukrainian authorities’ decisions and the understanding of all
dangerous consequences of any ethnically-motivated conflicts,” the
statement says
