Andrii Deshchytsia: West will open Pandora's box by forgiving Crimea's annexation

• 24.11.2014, 15:25

The mistakes made after Russia's war against Georgia should not be repeated.

The statement was made at the Warsaw Security Conference by Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland, onet.pl reports.

He recalled that the Maidan protests began a year ago. The spark that caused the protests was the Ukrainian president's refusal to sign the association agreement with the EU. As a result, Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and fled the country.

“Maidan was a revolution of freedom. It was about opportunities for the people of Ukraine to decide where to go. Then government decided for people that Ukraine would not join the EU,” Deshchytsia said. “It was about Ukraine's future in the transatlantic security system. It cannot be so as Putin wants that Ukraine can be free only on a condition that it does not join NATO. It is up for the Ukrainians to decide.”

The Ukrainian ambassador to Poland said the West got used to the existence of several frozen conflicts.

“For example, in Georgia. The relations between the West and Russia got back to normal after the war of 2008. We fear the situation will repeat with Crimea and Donbas,” he said. “If we forgive the annexation of Crimea by Russia, we will open Pandora's box. Russia and, perhaps, other states can afford such actions in future.”

He underlined that the talks on the security system cannot be held without Central and Eastern European countries.

Photo: ukrafoto.com