Arsenii Yatseniuk: Russia must immediately cancel referendum in Crimea

posted 10 March 2014 15:02

“We are expecting on Friday the Venice Commission, as an independent body, will release the decision on the so-called referendum in Crimea,” the Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk announced during a briefing in the Parliament on Monday, March 10, on the outcomes of the meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland and Sebastian Kurz – the chief of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Austria, holding the presidency of the Council of Europe.

“To my conviction, such referendum could be recognized by the North Korea, probably Syria, and it will be the extent,” he stressed.  

“The Russian Federation must immediately cancel the referendum to be held on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which is an integral part of the Ukrainian state,” the Premier emphasized.

According to Arsenii Yatseniuk, any talks concerning an assumption that the referendum in Crimea is being held by the Crimean authorities appears a lie: “There are no Crimean authorities. There is a group of criminals who have ceased power in an unconstitutional way in Crimea under cover of 18 thousand Russian militarymen”.

“And it is within personal responsibility of Russia and the Russian leaders – everything going on in Crimea,” Arsenii Yatseniuk underlined.