Barack Obama: A plebiscite in Crimea would violate international law
The U.S. President, Barack Obama, warned yesterday that a referendum about a integration of Crimea in Russia would violate international law.
“The proposed plebiscite for the future of Crimea violates the Ukrainian constitution and the international law. Any discussion about the future of Ukraine should include the legitimate government of the country” Obama said during a brief speech from the White House.
“In 2014, the period that borders change defying democratically elected leaders is gone for good" assured the U.S. president, whose government announced imposing restrictions on the provision of visas to Russians in response to “Russians violation of territorial integrity in Ukraine” and opened the way for a possible freeze of funds. “While we take these precautions, I want to say clearly that there is a way to resolve the crisis while respecting the interests of the Russian Federation and those of the Ukrainians” Obama added.
He called for “international observers to be able to go everywhere in Ukraine, including Crimea, to ensure that the rights of all Ukrainians are respected, between those the rights of the Russians, as for opening talks between the Russian and the Ukrainian government”.
