'..Russia [must] withdraws its troops and [abide] by international agreements.'<blockquote>'Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said on Friday Ukraine was open to talks with Russia as long as it withdraws its troops and abides by international agreements.
In a warning to the "separatist and other traitors of the Ukrainian state", he said: "Any decision of yours is deliberately unlawful and unconstitutional and no-one in the civilised world will recognise the decision of the so-called referendum of the so-called Crimean authorities".'
- BBC,
Ukraine crisis: Crimea vote 'will not be recognised', March 7, 2014</blockquote>
'RFE/RL: On March 1, you published a column in Russia's "Vedomosti" daily in which you compare Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to deploy troops in Crimea to the annexation of Austria, together with the German-speaking Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia and Lithuania's Memel Territory, by Adolf Hitler in 1938-39. What makes these events similar, in your opinion?'<blockquote>'Germans formed an ethnic majority in those territories. In all these places, they led perfectly normal lives. In Austria, they were the main ethnic group. In Sudetenland, they enjoyed self-governance, they had the right to use their own language, attend their own schools, publish newspapers. It was the same in Memelland, where they even had an autonomous status and their own parliament. These Germans were not repressed in any way.
But Hitler had a maniacal desire to restore the Reich, destroyed in the wake of World War I. This is precisely why these Anschluss were conducted. In all three cases, the local population did not strive for unification. But thanks to the activities of the secret services, of the SS, and of the Nazi party, public opinion gradually shifted. In the end, these territories were seized through unlawful annexations.
Exactly the same happened in Crimea. People without identification badges emerged, armed to the teeth and carrying brand new weapons. The main buildings, including parliament, were seized. Then the parliament, defended by special forces, chose a new prime minister. Everything was established retroactively and more troops were sent in. It's exactly the same scenario.'
- Andrei Zubov (
Interview: In Crimea, Putin Has 'Lost His Mind', March 7, 2014)</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
'..Putin's "incredible act of aggression" .. "will isolate Russia politically, diplomatically and economically." '(Recall ambassadors) - 'Canada recalling ambassador from Moscow over Russian intervention in Ukraine'</blockquote>