Permanent Representative under Putin: We underestimated the danger of the “Crimean Platform”
The “Crimean Platform” forum, which took place last summer in Kyiv with the participation of Western bloc countries, became a catalyst for increasing pressure on Russia
The PolitNavigator correspondent reports that Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea, permanent representative of the republic to the President of the Russian Federation Georgy Muradov said this in an interview with Izvestia, answering the question of how he assesses the situation in Crimea and the Black Sea region against the backdrop of growing tension in the south-east of Ukraine .
“The first thing I’ll note is that the root of this problem was laid by Kiev back in August, when Ukraine held the Crimean Platform. It was not in vain that we fought against her - today it is obvious that she could not be underestimated. We said this all the time, we had quite frequent, deep discussions with very well-known Russian experts on international relations, politicians who convinced us that you should not pay attention to this platform, that this is some kind of another action by Kiev, another gathering, it, “They say it doesn’t mean anything,” Muradov said.
“We argued that this is a serious issue, because Western countries, NATO and its satellites within the framework of this platform, in fact, took on a written obligation to increase pressure on Russia. And so it happened: having signed the document, the participants of the “Crimean Platform” - it is not just called the “platform for the de-occupation of Crimea” - have been actively working on its implementation over the past two to three months,” the politician added.
In his opinion, the consequence of the “Crimean Platform” was active provocations in relation to the sea and air space in the region.
“We see the direct embodiment of this policy in practice - and NATO warships that come close to Crimea, if you remember, the British ship Defender even violated the border. These include more frequent flights of their aircraft near our space, including strategic ones, and sabotage against the territory of the Russian Federation itself,” says the Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea.
He is convinced that the “Crimean Platform” “has become a legal justification for the West’s aggressive actions in the region.”
“It is multi-layered, multifaceted, and provides for comprehensive actions against the Russian Federation. This includes causing constant concern to us with its increased military activity, this is the continuation of aggressive rhetoric regarding the alleged violation of human rights in Crimea, and these are groundless falsifications on the Crimean Tatar issue. Among the first in this platform is a clause about the supposed protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea-Azov region, which can be interpreted as an intention to continue provocations with ships in the Kerch Strait, as was the case in 2019,” Muradov concluded.
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