MOSCOW, April 25 /ITAR-TASS/. There is a chance to return to the Geneva Statement on Ukraine, and there is no other way out of the current crisis in the country, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, said during a special program with Vladimir Solovyov on the Rossiya-1 TV channel.
“For some reason, they believe that we should somehow do everything for the population of the east and southeast of Ukraine. Although, of course, the initiative should come from the Kiev authorities,” Churkin said.
“Buildings were first seized and people first armed in Kiev. Of course, the first step should be made by them,” he said.
“They should show that they really mean what is written in the Geneva agreement. I think there is a chance of return to the Geneva agreement. Actually, there’s no other reasonable way,” the Russian ambassador to the UN said.
The Geneva Statement, adopted after the April 17 meeting on Ukraine that involved Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine, in particular envisions that all illegal armed formations should be disarmed in Ukraine, all administrative buildings unblocked and all protesters except for those who committed serious crimes pardoned.
The situation in Ukraine is far from stable after a coup in February, which brought to power new people amid deadly riots as President Viktor Yanukovich had to leave the country citing security concerns.
Crimea, where most residents are Russians, refused to recognize the new self-proclaimed Ukrainian authorities. Crimeans overwhelmingly voted in a referendum on March 16 to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. The reunification deal with Moscow was signed on March 18.
After Crimea's accession to Russia, which Kiev and Western countries do not accept despite Russia’s repeated statements that the Crimean plebiscite was in line with the international law, protests against the new Kiev leaders erupted in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking southeastern regions. Demonstrators, who are demanding referendums on the country’s federalization, took control of some government buildings.
Ukrainian parliament-appointed interim head of state Alexander Turchinov on April 15 announced the start of an antiterrorism operation in the Donetsk Region in eastern Ukraine, apparently aimed to crack down on federalization supporters.