Liberal international, 5 February 2015
Amidst great risk, a statement adopted by the Bureau of LI full member, Yabloko, has called on all democratic political forces in Russia to join a protest march on 1st March and demand an immediate halt to Russian engagement in Ukraine.

The bold proposal from Russia’s liberals sets out clear demands addressed to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, including calls for the establishment of a UN peacekeeping mission to be deployed to the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine to ensure the safety of residents of the region.

As part of the requirements, a cease-fire is to be established by both parties to the conflict, adhering to the Minsk agreements, and the President Putin is to withdraw all Russian militants and volunteers from Ukraine.

Commenting on the proposed march, the leader of Yabloko, Sergei Mitrokhin, said: “It is these requirements that the main opposition should unite behind at the upcoming march. All other measures and proposals will only serve to distract the public from the most acute and main problems of today’s Russia.”

A statement from Yabloko added: “The reason underlying the economic crisis in Russia is an undeclared war in which Russia annexed Crimea, supported a separatists’ mutiny in east Ukraine, and have been supplying military equipment to separatists and weapons and so-called “volunteers”.”

As the Russian Federation Council gave President Putin permission to use the Russian Army in Ukraine on 1st March 2014, the anti-war march has been called for all cities in Russia on 1st March 2015.
The original publication