Russia’s military scenario in Crimea duplicates that of 2008 in South Ossetia.
Censor.net reports that Ruslan Koshulinskiy, Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada from the Svoboda Party, spoke to a correspondent from Gordonua.com.
“Russia’s military scenario in Crimea is quite feasible, and all the prerequisites are in place. I spoke with the Georgians, and they told me that all the steps taken by the Russians match the Ossetian scenario exactly. Issuing passports, recalling the ambassador [to] Ukraine, which in fact means disregard for diplomatic tools … Limiting access to the territory of Crimea for any central authorities implies that any attempt by the authorities to restore constitutional order will be a pretext for bringing in Russian troops to protect its citizens,” said the Svoboda member.
According to the Vice-Speaker, the peninsula is in turmoil, but nobody wants to see the use of force.
“I have just phoned a friend from Simferopol and asked him about what was happening. Even he does not understand a thing. It is unclear what forces are at work in Crimea, whether it’s Cossacks, whether it’s military. Nobody really knows what is happening, and none of the people of Crimea want to fight,” said Koshulinskiy.
The Svoboda representative believes that Russia is playing its geopolitical and economic game with the aim of weakening Ukraine’s position in Crimea.
“A geopolitical and economic game is taking place. The geopolitical goal is to show their strength, to create something like Transdnistria and to have influence in the Black Sea. As for economic reasons, let us remember the huge amounts of money that have been spent on the Olympics in Sochi. Crimea is Sochi’s greatest rival for tourism, and in order to prevent the outflow of tourists from Sochi, it is necessary to provoke military unrest in Crimea. Who would want to go to a war zone, when you can go to peaceful Sochi?” he said.
source: censor.net
Translated by Marina Bulavina, edited by Robin Rohrback
