The upcoming referendum in Crimea is illegal as it contravenes the Ukrainian constitution, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter said.
“In its current form the referendum regarding Crimea scheduled for March 16, 2014, is in contradiction with the Ukrainian Constitution and must be considered illegal,” the OSCE press service quoted Burkhalter as saying on Tuesday.
“For any referendum regarding the degree of autonomy or sovereignty of the Crimea to be legitimate, it would need to be based on the Ukrainian constitution and would have to be in line with international law,” he said.
The Chair also ruled out the possibility of an OSCE observation of the planned referendum of March 16 as “the basic criteria for a decision in a constitutional framework were not met.” “Furthermore, an invitation by the participating State concerned would be a precondition to any observation activity in this regard,” he added.
Burkhalter reiterated his readiness to engage in discussions with all sides, possibly in the form of a Contact Group, regarding possibilities to find ways out of the current situation. He invited all participating States to support an early decision and subsequent deployment of an OSCE Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
