MOSCOW, March 15, /ITAR-TASS/. The purpose of the U.S. draft resolution on Crimea is to create a false information background for the referendum on the status of Crimea slated for March 16, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“On March 15, the U.N. Security Council held a ballot on the U.S. draft resolution on the situation in Ukraine. The initiative was groundless from the very beginning: events in Ukraine pose no threat to international peace and security - issues the Security Council deals with under the U.N. Charter,” the ministry said.
“The American move can only be explained by the overwhelming desire to politicise as much as possible the already complex situation for the benefit of its own geopolitical interests and continue to whip up international hysteria around Ukraine,” it said.
“Unfortunately, it is not stability in the country or the security and well-being of its citizens that Washington cares about. It keeps using Cold War categories, which were seemed bygone, in an attempt to impose its own vision of the political system in Ukraine,” the ministry said.
The draft “says nothing about key elements of the internal political crisis in the republic, primarily the seizure of power in Kiev by force and the breach of the agreement on stabilisation in the country reached with the mediation of Germany, Poland and France. Nor does it contain any assessment of the large-scale intensification of unlawful actions by nationalist and extremist armed groups, the abolition of statutory guarantees for the ethnic minority languages and other encroachments upon the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens by those who have seized power in Kiev and who intend to make the whole population of the friendly state live by their ‘codes’,” the ministry said.
The proposed draft resolution placed the emphasis on the alleged “illegitimacy of the upcoming referendum in Crimea” and “obviously sought to create a false information background around it,” the statement said.
“In doing so they [the authors of the draft resolution] denied the people of Crimea the right to free expression of their will, pointed to the ‘illegitimacy’ of the referendum and urged all states not to recognise its results,” the ministry said.
The United States had failed to listen to the voice of reason when it submitted its draft resolution on Ukraine, it added.
“We reminded our Western partners, primarily the U.S., many times that such ill-considered moves would be counterproductive. As the American initiative in the U.N. Security Council showed, our calls for listening to the voice of reason were not heard. In this connection, the Russian delegation in the Security Council voted against the draft resolution, which was not adopted,” the ministry said.
“We hope that the U.N. member states that have so far demonstrated a biased and confrontational approach in connection with the situation in Ukraine, including during the discussion of this matter in the U.N. Security Council, will find the strength to embark on the path of constructive cooperation in the interests of long-term settlement of the situation and ensuring the full range of interests of Ukrainian citizens, including the population of eastern and southeastern regions of the country,” the ministry said.
“We believe that the starting point in this case should be the shared interest of the international community in peace and stability in Ukraine,” the statement said.