Three former Ukrainian presidents, Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, and Viktor Yuschenko, have called for the current government to break the Kharkiv Pact on permitting the deployment of the Black Sea Fleet of Russian Federation in the Crimea in exchange for providing a discount on energy products.
According to the online-based newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, the transcript of the corresponding statement was sent to the newspaper on Saturday night.
“We address the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to immediately meet in session, call for mobilization and be ready to protect our land. The Verkhovna Rada must denounce the Kharkiv Pact. The Ukrainian government must press for the decision to immediately sign the Association Agreement with the EU,” presidents said.
They stressed that “for the first time in the contemporary history, the Ukrainian people have faced the crisis that threatens the unity, sovereignty and nationhood of our country and can become a national disaster threatening to destroy Ukraine.” The presidents think that “people of Ukraine and Russia are being artificially pushed to a fratricidal war” and Ukraine “is at the edge of the escalation of conflict that has all the characteristics of the military aggression.”
Kuchma, Kravchuk and Yuschenko addressed the Russian Federal Assembly and State Duma calling to withdraw “the decision on military intervention, which can turn Ukrainians and Russians into enemies.” They also call for Russia “to reckon with the will of all the Ukrainian people and not just its part,” as well as “to let Ukraine solve its problems on its own.”
“And do not attempt to help us by military intervention,” reads the statement.
Kuchma, Kravchuk and Yuschenko also addressed the Ukrainian authorities with a request “when making decisions take into account the historical peculiarities of Ukraine’s regions… Don’t be in a hurry when considering the issues that can cause escalation in society.”
They also called for the Security Service of Ukraine and Prosecutor General’s Office “to react to any threats of Ukraine’s division at once and remain level-headed and self-restrained.”
“An appropriate reaction of Ukrainian law-enforcers and supreme political leadership still can stop the creation of a ‘hot zone’ in Europe,” reads the statement.
The presidents also called for the EU “to position itself in Ukraine as efficiently as possible.” “While diplomats still can talk louder than weapons, the EU must send a permanent mission to Ukraine, which will consist of authoritative negotiators and observers to regulate a possible conflict in Ukraine… We also address the global community, the United States, the UK and the EU, demanding to uphold your promises, as at the time you guaranteed safety to Ukraine. Right now we need your support, help and active participation in the dialogue regarding a peaceful regulation of the situation in Ukraine,” reads the statement.
As reported, in April 2010, in Kharkiv, the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia Viktor Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev signed the pact, according to which the duration of the Black Sea Fleet deployment in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was extended to 25 years, starting from 2017, with an additional 5-year renewal option, if none of the parties were to announce withdrawal from the pact. In exchange, the Ukrainian party received a 30% drop in gas prices, which, however, didn’t exceed $100 per 1,000 cubic meters.
On June 19, 2013, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine rejected the bill to denounce the Agreement between Russia and Ukraine on the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine.
