Crimea: a sham referendum

President Putin has now signed a decree recognising Crimea as a sovereign state. The United Kingdom, in common with Poland, the rest of the European Union and the majority of the international community, does not recognise the 16th March Crimea referendum or its outcome as legal or legitimate.

Both the British and Polish governments have strongly condemned recognition. As our Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “We are witnessing a clear attempt to pave the way for the annexation of part of the sovereign territory of an independent European state, through military force and an illegal and illegitimate referendum.”

To be clear, the referendum:

• violates the Ukrainian Constitution, which clearly stipulates that the status of any part of the country’s territory can only be changed as a result of a nationwide referendum;

• resulted from Russian interference given that Crimea has been under military occupation for several weeks by Russian armed forces, which have installed a pro-Russian puppet administration without a popular mandate;

• was not properly prepared. The time frame was shortened twice and there was no transparency whatsoever over procedures;

• was unfair because it failed to offer Crimeans the option of backing the status quo in terms of Crimea’s existing status within Ukraine;

• could not be properly verified due to the absence of either international or domestic impartial observers or a proper monitoring process.

In these circumstances, the referendum is not remotely representative of the will of the people of Crimea. That is why at Monday’s meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, visa bans and asset freezes against 21 individuals connected to the situation in Ukraine were adopted to send a strong signal to Russia that this challenge to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine will bring economic and political consequences.

Any further escalation by the Russian Federation would regrettably trigger further far-reaching consequences across a number of fields, including economic and financial areas.

We are continuing to collaborate closely with Poland as the crisis unfolds and yesterday offered a Royal Air Force contribution to the next rotation of the NATO Baltic Air Patrol in which Poland will be participating.