Crimea
Saturday 23 September 2017
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Aleksey Pushkov
Chairman of the Commission on Information Policy in Russia’s Federation Council
“There is no basis for the deployment of peacekeepers on the border between the DNR/LNR and Russia. It is a zone of peace and tranquility. So let them deal with the zone of tension.”
Read more...The Russian authorities’ insistence that the mandate of UN peacekeepers in Ukraine should be limited to the area along the “borders” between Ukraine and the conflict zone in the eastern part of the country is based on their claim that the region is a “zone of peace and tranquility.” That claim is neither true nor logical. Eastern Ukraine remains a war zone and the only internationally recognized borders are those between Ukraine and Russia. -
Sergey Kislyak
Former Russian Ambassador to the U.S.
“I have worked for years in the American (relations) field, and I can responsibly say that we did everything, simply everything, to maintain normal cooperation.”
Read more...Russia’s own actions endangering global security caused the deterioration of relations with the United States as well as with other countries. The conditions for lifting sanctions and returning to “normal” cooperation have been clearly presented to Russia but Moscow ignores its obligation to help maintain global security. -
RT
Russian government-funded international broadcaster
“U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker stated that Russian authorities intend to ‘freeze’ the situation in Donbass.”
Read more...In fact, Volker said that Russia appears ready to “live with” the status quo in the region and that there are political and economic costs for its actions in Ukraine. -
Andrey Klimov
Deputy Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee, Federation Council
“These sanctions are illegal in themselves, because the only thing recognized by international law is the sanctions of the UN Security Council.”
Read more...Despite Russia’s claims that U.S.-imposed sanctions are illegal under international law, the U.S. strictly follows its own legal procedures and international regulations under the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) -
Ramzan Kadyrov
Head of Chechnya
“America is carrying out policies against Russia, against the nation’s leadership. They know I am one of those ready to give my life for Russia, and that I have a good army capable of attacking and defending. We will see who comes out on top.”
Read more...Chechnya’s Kremlin-appointed head threatened the U.S. with his “army.” His claims are baseless: by military standards, Chechnya has no army. -
Kiselyov’s legal defense team
“Dmitry Kiselyov has never expressed support for the directing of Russian forces to Ukraine... The EU Council did not provide information necessary to ensure [his] legal right to defense, since the accusations leveled were formulated in an unduly vague way.”
Read more...Lawyers for pro-Kremlin media figure Dmitry Kiselyov claim their client never expressed support for sending Russian troops into Ukraine, and that the European Council has denied him the right to legal defense. In fact, Kiselyov is notorious for provocative comments about Ukraine and the court followed regular procedures in adjudicating his case. -
Maria Zakharova
Spokesperson, Russian Foreign Ministry
“The International Court of Justice has taken a principled stand and did not support the numerous and well-known statements of the Ukrainian side about the alleged so-called "aggression" [and] "occupation" of Crimea, [viewing them] as being unrelated to the essence of the proceedings. In the process, the court did not support any of the temporary measures requested by Ukraine, nor the main point of this part of the Ukrainian suit -- that Russia is “pursuing a policy of erasing the cultural identity of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities."
Read more...The Russian Foreign Ministry says the International Court of Justice found Ukraine’s suit against Russia “implausible.” Court documents contradict this claim, and experts say the ministry’s characterization of the ruling demonstrates that Russia is “still litigating the same argument that it just lost.” -
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia
“The sanctions imposed on Russia were a response to our country conducting an independent foreign policy, as well as a kind of punishment for the people of Crimea fulfilling their legitimate right to self-determination and right to freedom of expression enshrined in the foundational international documents on human rights.”
Read more...Russia’s Foreign Ministry says the sanctions imposed by more than 30 countries after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine were a response to Moscow’s “independent foreign policy” and "punishment" for Crimeans voting to join Russia in a 2014 referendum. Experts strongly disagree. -
Patriarch Kirill
Head of the Russian Orthodox Church
“Our church is being oppressed, they are trying to deprive it of civil rights, trying to adopt laws that exclude the normal registration of the Orthodox parishes in Ukraine; the forced takeover of the churches is taking place.”
Read more...The head of Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, accused Ukraine of oppressing Russian Orthodox parishes and its adherents of civil rights. A fact-check reveals that Russian Orthodox believers in Ukraine are breaking with the Moscow-led hierarchy in response to Kirill’s support of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. -
Sergei Lavrov
Foreign Minister, Russia
“The U.S. and European Union bluntly told the Ukrainians: either you are with us, or you are with Russia against us.”
Read more...Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov says the United States sought to “take over this geopolitical space around Russia,” and that the U.S. and EU gave the Ukrainians the ultimatum “either you are with us, or you are with Russia against us.” Experts say it was actually Russia which delivered such an ultimatum to Ukraine. -
Natalya Poklonskaya
Member of Parliament, Russia
"I am confident that today, 100 percent of Crimeans would vote to return to Russia.”
Read more...On the third anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, Natalya Poklonskaya, the former Crimean prosecutor general who helped Moscow’s efforts to take over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula, claimed “100 percent of Crimeans” would vote to be part of Russia if the 2014 referendum were held today. Polling data and experts suggest otherwise. -
Yaroslav Kuzminov
Rector of Higher School of Economics
“Despite the fact that Coursera is an American company, they’ve persuaded the U.S. government to lift the prohibition for teaching in Crimea.”
Likely TrueU.S. provides for some exemptions for sanctions imposed on Russia after annexing Crimea.Read more...While U.S. Treasury Department officials declined comment, American virtual learning company Coursera confirmed it does have U.S. permission for online lessons on their platform to be accessible in Crimea.