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| Europe | ||
| Ukraine MP Claim: Russia 'distributing passports in the Crimea' | ||
| 2008-08-19 | ||
Ukraine is investigating claims that Russia has been distributing passports in the port of Sevastopol, raising fears that the Kremlin could be stoking separatist sentiment in the Crimea as a prelude to possible military intervention.
Russia handed out passports to the residents of the two provinces, which have long looked to Moscow for support, five years ago. The Kremlin has justified its invasion of Georgia in terms of defending its citizens in Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgian "aggression". Mykola Stretovych, an MP with Ukraine's ruling orange coalition, claimed that Russia was engaged in a massive operation to hand out passports in Sevastopol, home to 400,000 people, many of whom have historic ties with Russia. Anatoly Gritsenko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's national security committee, launched a probe into the claims which, if true, would represent "a threat to national security", he said. Tensions between Moscow and Kiev have grown in recent days after Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's pro-western president, imposed restrictions on Russian ships entering the Black Sea Fleet's base in Sevastopol. The decision to place limitations on movement to and from the base, which Russia rents from Ukraine, was taken after ships from the Black Sea Fleet were used in military operations in Georgia. Ukraine further infuriated the Kremlin last week by offering Europe and the United States access to its missile warning systems. Mr Yushchenko's alliance with Georgia has caused further resentment among the Crimea's overwhelmingly Russian-speaking population. The territory was historically part of Russia but was awarded to Soviet Ukraine by Nikita Khrushchev in 1954. The head of Ukraine's security service, however, said that despite nationalist tensions in the territory, a rebellion in the Crimea with or without Russian support was inconceivable. "Prosperity, peace and calm in the Crimea is the very foundation on which the interests of Ukraine and neighbouring Russia coincide," Valentin Nalivaichenko said.
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| Posted by:ed |
| #3 Time to pass out Chinese Passports in Siberia. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-08-19 22:04 |
| #2 Same tactic used by Hitler. Had to invade to protect it's citizens in other countries. World forgotten. But now that this tactic is out in the open, Russians would have a hard time to make it stick. The countries that would have been a target are starting to apply counter measures. Georgia will soon be the newest member of the New Socialist Republic of The New Soviet Union. That is not Putin's goal. He wants vassal statelets that he can squeeze, but does not have to provide for them, incorporation would mean dilution of the profit margin. He does not look back to SU, but quite a bit further in the past-- Golden Horde = a modicum of independence of vassals, but with a huge tribute for a guaranteed "protection". And no such sillines like pipelines that are not controlled by him or his cronies. |
| Posted by: Spike Uniter 2008-08-19 15:38 |
| #1 Same tactic used by Hitler. Had to invade to protect it's citizens in other countries. Georgia will soon be the newest member of the New Socialist Republic of The New Soviet Union. |
| Posted by: Chogum Smith9957 2008-08-19 15:25 |