Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said that there might be potential external threats of Crimea's secession from Ukraine, but that he sees no reasons for this coming from inside the country.
“There are no domestic reasons for this. The problem only arises
when someone somehow plays the Crimea card. That is where a serious
potential threat can arise,” he said in an interview with the German
news magazine Der Spiegel published on its official Web site on Monday.
Yushchenko also said that as the head of state, he hoped that the situation would not reach this stage.
“As president, I’m doing everything I can to prevent this,” he said.
Yushchenko also commented on calls from Russians on the Crimean
peninsula for Moscow to support secession – if necessary with a war
against Ukraine’s leadership.
“The situation’s future development essentially depends on Russia.
Back in 1993, the Russian parliament declared the port city of
Sevastopol a Russian city. That was an official decision, which is
still in effect. This resolution shows that there are powers that are
out to destabilize the Crimea,” he said.
He recalled that “there is a basic agreement and four amendments on
the provisional stationing of the [Russian Black Sea] fleet with us.”
“However, a large part of this agreement is not being respected. For
instance, many of the areas utilized by the military are being
improperly used – to build private villas. This all has to do with
lawlessness and sloppiness. Or take the problem with the 134
lighthouses intended for navigational purposes that stand on our
territory: Russia has simply taken control of these facilities. If they
are truly all used for the fleet, then an agreement must be made with
us concerning them,” he said.
Yushchenko also expressed confidence that Ukraine should “monitor
crew sizes and the number of ships, so that they cannot both simply be
increased.”
“No country with foreign military bases on its territory can forgo doing this, in the interests of its own security,” he said.
