Statement by Yabloko Bureau, 4.12.2018

The situation in the Kerch Strait is leading to the further escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. All these 4 years the citizens of the two countries have been hostages of irresponsible politicians. This is the first time in history that Russia and Ukraine have an open conflict, and this is the result of the desire of the Russian government to distract people from a number of very serious problems by means of heating up tension.

We are sure that the consequences of the foreign policy adventures, the mobilisation of people using military rhetoric and the militarisation of society will be fatal. Our country has once and for all chosen the policy of the arms race and confrontation with the world rather than development and cooperation. This year the adopted the budget, and over 30 per cent of expenditure goes to military and security forces.

The legal aspect of the conflict in the Kerch Strait bumps into the unsettled stars of Crimea. Yabloko has stated it many times that after the developments of 2014 Russia has become a country with unrecognised borders. The political elite has no wish to settles this issues. Ignoring his problem is leading to the situation where the current agreements do not mirror the real state of affairs. This means that any until the issues is settled controversial situation in this ares will cause reasonable discussions whether both countries abide by the law.

The Yabloko party has consistently opposed Russia’s aggressive policy towards Ukraine. We believe that the Russian government bears full political responsibility for sparking this conflict. The attempts to avoid solving this issue and settling the status of Crimea are leading to further isolation in foreign policy, decline in economy as a result of the sanctions and to new victims.

We insist that the only way to settle conflicts like this is to hold an internationally recognised referendum on the status of Crimea. The Russian government must unambiguously state the necessity to hold this referendum as soon as possible and involve all the parties concerned and a number of Europen countries, that will uphold the agreement fulfilment, in the discussion of the format and the organisational procedures of the referendum.

We would like to remind you that Russian and Ukrainians are connected by history, culture, and we must make every effort to resist all attempts of irresponsible and shortsighted politicians to divide us. Now more than ever all the sensible political forces of the two countries must stand up for peace and cooperation. We will use all political recourse to end this war. We think that the future of both countries is liberty and democracy as part of the European family.

Emilia Slabunova
Yabloko Chair