Tag: #Crimea

1st July 2024 Kyiv, Ukraine

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by Martin Harris

British Ambassador to Ukraine

Crimea: a place to remember, learn from and return to

Crimea is a special and, in many regards, unique place in Ukraine. It has a distinctive climate, breathtaking views of sea and mountains that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. It has a multi-layered history with a rich heritage stretching from ancient to modern times. This is the context that created an incredibly […]

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13th October 2015

Sian MacLeod

by Sian MacLeod

Former UK Ambassador to Serbia

Rainy Day Resilience: the OSCE and European Security

Some weeks ago, I retweeted a thoughtful, well-informed article that suggested that the OSCE might have greatest relevance providing ‘resilience for a rainy day’. Resilience has to be built up, just as the human body creates antibodies to ward off disease and infection. In healthcare, resilience does not just mean Accident and Emergency services; the […]

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16th May 2014 London, UK

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by David Lidington

Minister for Europe, London

What’s life like for Crimea’s Tatars now?

With the eyes of the world focused on events in south-east Ukraine, it would have been easy to miss what has been happening in Crimea in the weeks since its illegal annexation by the Russian Federation. Take the case of Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev. He has led an extraordinary life. He was exiled as […]

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9th May 2014

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by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Two Elections, One Day, One Europe

Britain and Sweden see eye to eye on the implications of the Ukraine crisis. Here’s a translation of the article I wrote for Swedish national newspaper Dagens Industri today. In less than three weeks’ time, the people of Ukraine go to the polls in Presidential elections that will determine the future direction of their country. According […]

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28th April 2014

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by Jonathan Allen

Former Ambassador to Bulgaria

Russia’s Actions Make the Case for a Western-facing Bulgaria

The Tsar Liberator faces the National Assembly. Newly cleaned, with touches of gold, the statue of the Tsar leading his troops in liberation of Bulgaria is impressive. But his watchful stance and position opposite parliament, the symbol of Bulgarian democracy, brings with it some ambiguity, brought into sharper focus by the situation in Ukraine. The […]

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2nd April 2014

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Why Ukraine matters and what happens next

Heavily armed Russian troops seize Crimea, part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine with a population similar to Latvia and an area larger than Israel.  President Putin says Crimea “has always been an inalienable part” of Russian territory; and announces its permanent annexation. How should we respond? I’ve just returned to Istanbul from four weeks […]

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23rd March 2014

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

How not to hold a referendum

The Crimean referendum of 16 March falls far below recognised international standards. To begin with, it is unconstitutional. Ukraine’s constitution clearly states that the status of any part of the country’s territory can only be changed as the result of a nationwide referendum. No one objected to the idea of a referendum as such. And […]

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18th March 2014 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

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 […]

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17th March 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Russia defies the Pope, and the world, on Ukraine

When Pope Francis spoke about Ukraine at the Sunday Angelus on 2 March, he called for all Ukrainians to overcome misunderstandings and to build the future of the nation together and made “a heartfelt appeal to the international community to support every initiative on behalf of dialogue and concord”. Regrettably, there is one country in […]

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10th March 2014 Paris, France

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by Peter Ricketts

Ambassador to France from February 2012 to January 2016.

Bringing Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table

Hague, Kerry and Fabius in Paris, 5 March 2014. Credits: MAEE

I’ve talked before about the events in Kiev, at a time when they reminded me of the fall of the Berlin wall, and the extraordinary surge of freedom and independence that happened after that in Eastern Europe. Since then, things have got more difficult, because we’ve had what is obviously an intervention of Russian armed […]

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