Jimmy Carter: in the circumstances, the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation was inevitable
All members of the “Group of Elders” were satisfied with the recent talks with the Russian president and the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to Carter, “all Kremlin representatives emphasized that Moscow would very much like to see the full implementation of the Minsk agreements on a settlement in Ukraine, and now it remains to solve only one task - to realize everything that has been achieved.”
He recalled that "Russia categorically denies any participation in the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine, and there is no evidence that President Putin is sending Russian troops there" or weapon.
“I would very much like to send weapons to Ukraine not to be carried out, both to Kiev and to the east of Ukraine. I hope that President Obama will not send weapons, ”said Carter and added that none of the delegation members supported the proposal to supply weapons to Kiev.
According to him, “the annexation of Crimea to Russia was almost an inevitable step, whether people agree or not, therefore, there is no prospect of a rupture of relations between them in the near future.” “Nikita Khrushchev handed over control of the Crimea to Ukraine as a gift, not assuming that the Soviet Union would eventually collapse. But over time, Crimeans and Russians wanted to be together again, and their reunion took place by mutual agreement, ”the former president said.
He agreed that today "there is a problem with the interpretation of what happened in Kiev, and this issue is not completely resolved." Americans believe that Poroshenko’s rise to power was carried out in accordance with the law, while the Kremlin interprets this event differently. “But the only optimal way to resolve the conflict in Ukraine now is to fulfill all aspects of the Minsk agreements,” said Carter.
“One way or another, in Moscow we have heard nothing, except that Russia wants to implement the Minsk agreements in their entirety,” he said. The Russian leadership, the ex-president noted, would like the White House to support this plan. And although he doesn’t see "the need for the US to be directly involved in it, because those who signed them must actually implement all the agreements - but on the whole it would be good for all countries of the world to support the implementation of the Minsk agreements," Jimmy concluded Carter.
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