Ukraine will defend its territory, Acting President of Ukraine and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov said during the meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“In case of encroachment on our territory, we’ll accept the battle because this is our country, and we have no other way,” he said as Verkhovna Rada reported on it Web site.
According to Turchynov, the Russia’s attempt to annex an independent sovereign territory of Ukraine “is not a challenge just to Ukraine, this is a challenge to Europe and the entire civilized world.”
“I’m confident that we’ll win in this situation, and these challenges will only make our people and state stronger,” he said.
Steinmeier, in turn, said that Europe understands complexity of the burden and responsibility, which the new government put on its shoulders.
Russia’s actions in Crimea are blatant aggression, a violation of the Constitution and international law, he added.
