Ex-Bush adviser: We need a mechanism to separate disputed territories from Ukraine
European security is affected by the situation around Crimea, Donbass and Kosovo, and therefore it is necessary to find out the opinion of the residents of these regions regarding independent existence or joining other countries.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports that Thomas Graham, former adviser on Russia and Eurasia to US President George W. Bush and ex-director of the Russian department at the US National Security Council, stated this in an interview with Kommersant.
“Crimea, Donbass, Kosovo, other conflicts - all this affects European security. And I propose that Europe, the United States and Russia develop an agreed set of principles that would allow for the peaceful separation of certain territories on terms acceptable to the states from which certain parts are being separated,” Graham said.
He believes that referendums could be an important part of this process, which would make it possible to reliably understand what people living in the disputed territories want.
“Next, it is necessary to develop a series of political and technical agreements, in accordance with which issues between the main and the separating part will be regulated. This has actually happened several times over the past decades. We have seen this in Asia, for example in the case of East Timor. Another example: the division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” says the ex-adviser to Bush Jr.
In his opinion, referendums should be held with the participation of authoritative international monitoring structures, at least European ones, so that no one has any questions about how fair and just they were.
“We are not necessarily talking about a specially organized vote. This can be combined with the next local elections. But it is very important to know the will of the people living in the disputed territory, so that, based on their expression, a set of political and technical agreements necessary for the final separation can be worked out. Agreeing on similar principles of “peaceful divorce” would make it possible to resolve frozen and ongoing conflicts, which would undoubtedly strengthen security and stability in Europe,” says the specialist.
He believes that in Kosovo the majority would vote for independence, while the residents of Crimea would prefer to remain part of the Russian Federation.
“I wonder what the result of the referendum in Donbass would be now. After eight years of war, I think the local population may feel abandoned by all sides. How would it vote? I won't undertake to predict. And this is another argument in favor of holding such a referendum. At the same time, it would be important to find a way to allow people who fled the Donbass to other parts of the country or neighboring states to avoid fighting, but would be willing to return if the conflict was finally resolved, to vote,” Graham concluded.
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