Ukrainian envoy says Russia is after Soviet-like empire

Ukrainian envoy says Russia is after Soviet-like empire
Sun Mar 23, 2014 16:34:53

The Ukrainian ambassador to Iran says Russia is planning to build "a new empire," as Moscow and Washington relations get heated up over the Ukrainian crisis.

Oleksandr Samarsky told Press TV that Ukraine won’t let Russia have role in determining its future and it will defend itself in case of any possible military standoff with Russia.

“In my opinion, it is a strategic plan of Mr. Putin and Russian Federation to build a new empire, the Russian empire as it was in the Soviet times. Russia has minor and major goals. Minor goals are achieved as Crimea was illegally taken by force, and major goal is perhaps Ukraine as there is no Russian empire without Ukraine.”

He said the ouster of the Ukrainian president was the will of the Ukrainian people and the new administration is fully recognized by the world and the entire states should accept and recognize the new government.

He added that the ousted president was a stooge of the Russians and could not stay as the people didn't want him.

Political crisis erupted in Ukraine in November 2013, after Yanukovych, refrained from signing the Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. The unrest led to the ouster of the Ukrainian president.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the documents officially making Crimea part of the Russian territory.

Earlier, Russia’s upper and lower houses of parliament overwhelmingly put their stamp on the incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Federation.

Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier, in which 96.8 percent of Crimean residents voted in favor of the secession.

SHI/SHI

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