The decisions being made by the new Ukrainian authorities will be contested in international courts, Russian State Duma Deputy Chairman and deputy secretary of the United Russia party General Council Sergei Zheleznyak says.
“All decisions that have been made of late [by the new authorities in Kyiv] are illegitimate and will be contested in international courts,” Zheleznyak told journalists.
Hardly can anyone feel empathy with Viktor Yanukovych today, and many hate him for lack of determination, inability to take control of the situation, and “quell the rebellion,” Zheleznyak said.
“Nevertheless, his public appearance [at a Friday press conference in Rostov-on-Don] has absolutely ruined the game of those who have plotted a fascist coup in Ukraine, because, in line with all international legal norms, he remains to be the legitimate president of Ukraine,” Zheleznyak said, calling the new Ukrainian authorities “a Kyiv junta.”
Yanukovych is not asking for Russia’s military assistance today but calls for a peaceful and speedy settlement of the conflict in line with the agreement he signed with the opposition, which the German, French and Polish foreign ministers initialed, Zheleznyak said.
“And this is also Viktor Yanukovych’s strong legal trump card, because it is clear that the parties that signed this agreement cannot voluntarily backtrack from it now,” he said.
Yanukovych had to ask the Russian authorities for shelter to ensure his security, Zheleznyak said. “I am sure that, as soon as security requirements are provided, Yanukovych will move to Ukraine, either to Crimea or to one of the eastern or southeastern regions,” he said.
He suggested that Yanukovych’s statements he made at the Friday press conference are a good message to the Ukrainian regions that disagree with the decisions announced by the new Kyiv authorities.
As concerns some European countries’ role in signing the February 21 agreement in Kyiv, Zheleznyak noted that they do not have a lot of options today. “Either they fully admit their inadequacy and irresponsibility for the decisions they initialed, or they will have to contact Yanukovych and negotiate conditions of his security and the agreement’s implementation.”
