Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Ukraine does not plan to break off diplomatic relations with Russia

Kyiv will not initiate the severance of diplomatic relations with Moscow, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.

"We support diplomatic relations in spite of Russia's aggression. There are millions of Ukrainians in Russia, who we should take care of. If Russia makes such a decision [to break diplomatic relations], then it is its responsibility," the minister said in an interview with the Der Standard edition.


Commenting on the recent deterioration of relations with Russia over the Russian internal Republic of Crimea, Klimkin said that this had been linked to the parliamentary elections in Russia.

"We do not know whether this [in Crimea] had been a planned action or an accident. This could have been an attempt of internal mobilization: parliamentary elections will be held in Russia shortly.Moods in Crimea are bad. Perhaps, Russia wants to disrupt the peace process so and play the card. 

We do not know for sure what the Russian tactics are, but it is very dangerous," the minister said.

Klimkin said that up to 50,000 Russian troops are staying in occupied Crimea.
Ukraine will not give up the attempts to agree on Crimea with Russia, he also said.

"Of course, we are not so naive to believe that tomorrow Russia will sit down to the table with us to discuss Crimea's status. But there are many urgent issues: human rights in Crimea, presence of international organizations what we are calling for, control of the air and sea space. These problems cannot be settled without such a format," Klimkin said.


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