Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey: All conflicts in post-Soviet space have Russian trace

18.05.2020 10:34

Ukrinform

All conflicts in the post-Soviet space invariably imply the Russian trace as a prime cause or the direct participation of the Russian Federation, as in the war in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.

"In everything you have mentioned [about the conflicts in the post-Soviet space], we can see one common feature that we observe in each conflict. And this is Russia. This is a prime cause. Ukraine wants peace, and we really know the price of peace and make every effort to achieve peace. If the establishment of peace depended only on Ukraine, it would be restored long ago," Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Andrii Sybiha said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek Türkiye.

He also pointed out that Russia used various ways of misinformation in this context.

"Russia wants to take possession of the main role of the victor over Nazism… Russia tries to cover up the present-day crimes against Ukraine, by manipulating history. Russia continues waging the hybrid information war against Ukraine in third countries," the ambassador said.

As an example, he cited the organization of "outrageous performances around the world" on Victory Day.

"This is nothing but a manifestation of Kremlin’s propaganda in an attempt to monopolize the victory in World War II. This victory was common. This is a victory of many peoples of the then Soviet Union and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, not just the Russians," the diplomat stressed.

It is a particularly sensitive issue for Ukraine as these provocative actions are held under the symbols and slogans with which Russia started the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of Donbas in 2014, the ambassador reminded.

Russia cynically distorts the historical truth, presenting itself as the main "anti-fascist." Meanwhile, Russia kills my compatriots, vilely using the symbols of that war," Sybiha said.