(Vatican Radio) Ukraine's interim government has warned that it will not give up the
Crimean Peninsula where Russian forces have surrounded military bases and other sites,
but that it will try to resolve the crisis there peacefully. The announcement comes
after Russian forces attempted to occupy a Ukrainian air force base and amid concerns
over plans by Russian legislators to annex the region.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister
Andriy Deshchytsia said Ukraine would do all in its power to prevent bloodshed in
Crimea, where local authorities prepare for a referendum on joining Russia. However,
“Crimea was and will remain Ukrainian territory,” he said.
Yet, there was
little sign of that Saturday amid fresh reports that about 100 armed men took control
of a military office in the regional capital, Simferopol.
Ukrainian officials
also said Russian forces stormed a Crimean border control point early Saturday, beating
up a senior officer, seizing the armoury and driving the officers' families from their
living quarters.
Additionally 100 Russian troops and 50 members of what authorities
call Crimean "self-defence" forces reportedly continue to blockade a ferry crossing
point near the port of Kerch.
AIR FORCE BASE
On Friday, pro-Russian
troops reportedly tried to smash open the gates of a Ukrainian air force base in Crimea,
but the standoff eventually ended after Ukrainians refused to surrender and the Russian
forces left.
Other military bases have also been surrounded by pro-Russian
forces across Crimea.
Armed men have also refused for three consecutive days
to allow military observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe to enter the Crimea region, and at one point warning shots were reportedly
fired at the delegation.
The military movements come ahead of a controversial
referendum on March 16 over whether Crimea should join Russia.
Leaders of
both houses of Russia’s Parliament said that they would support a vote by Crimeans
to break away from Ukraine and become a region of the Russian Federation, ignoring
sanction threats and warnings, from the United States and other countries.
MOSCOW
TALKING?
However Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insists that Moscow
is open to further talks with the West, if the right conditions are met. He said,
“We are ready to pursue dialogue if we have the assurance that it will be an honest
dialogue between equal partners and without attempts to portray us as a party to the
conflict.” Yet, commentators say the presence of as many as 30,000 Russian forces
across Crimea have called into question Russia’s relations with the West and its post-Cold
War agreements on the sovereignty of nations that emerged from the collapse of the
Soviet Union.
Russia has warned the West over planned punitive measures, pledging
to retaliate over an EU decision to freeze talks on visa-free travel. Moscow also
says imposing sanctions on Russia will have negative consequences for the United States.