Russian Ambassador educates Guyanese public on current Ukraine crisis situation

WITH many Guyanese unfamiliar about the current situation between Russia and Ukraine, more specifically Crimea, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) hosted a lecture on Monday to educate its supporters on the issue. The talk was given by Russian Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Nikolay Smirnov at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (Red House) in High Street, Kingston, Georgetown and among those in attendance were PPP General Secretary, Mr. Clement Rohee and scores of party supporters.

Mr Rohee explained that the lecture was aimed at educating the public on the present political and social issues enveloping Russia and Ukraine.
He said such initiatives were launched by the late former President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, who sought to educate his party comrades on international policies.
“Foreign policy is a reflection of local or domestic policies,” the PPP General Secretary said, noting the importance of these occasions to the public.
Ambassador Smirnov said, in his lecture, that the Russian Federation has extended and will continue to extend their supportive arm towards Ukraine during crises.
At the end of 2013, Euromaidan protests (around 400,000 to 800,000 people in Kiev and hundreds of thousands in other Ukrainian cities and abroad) began after Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych postponed the signing of Ukraine/European Union Association Agreement.

INDEPENDENTLY DRIVEN
Smirnov noted that the decision was an independently driven one which would have fostered better economical development for Ukraine.
“Russia has helped heavily in boosting the economy of Ukraine,” he said.
As a result, President Yanukovych was forced to seek refuge in Russia after attempts were made by anti-Russian civilians to kill him. Ukraine’s police and military troops, who were forced to retreat, also attempted to calm the situation but were greeted with grenades, poisonous gases and use of extreme violence, the diplomat said.
Smirnov also expounded on the fact that Russia did not seize Crimea and assume control of the province as, according to him, Crimea has always considered itself independent and called for a referendum, which revealed a stunning 96 percent of people were in support of Crimea’s inclusion into the Russian Federation.
“The choice made by Crimean residents should be respected… we did not want any tanks, any nationalist combat units or people with extreme views armed with automatic weapons there. Of course, the Russian servicemen did back the Crimean self-defence forces. They acted in a civil but a decisive and professional manner,” Smirnov said.
He concluded by noting that while the United Nations and African Union do not recognise Crimea’s independence, it has been established from Ukraine in keeping with the International Law.
The lecture concluded at around 18:00 hrs as members of the audience expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the PPP and the Russian Embassy to educate the Guyanese public on international issues.

(By Ravin Singh )