Senator from Sevastopol categorically rejected the exchange of Donbass for Crimea
The Russian authorities must carefully weigh everything before deciding to recognize the results of the elections in Ukraine. Moreover, even in the event of recognition and the start of any negotiations with the new Ukrainian president, Moscow should under no circumstances sacrifice the interests of the residents of Donbass.
Olga Timofeeva, a member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, stated this on air on the Tsargrad TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We must make a decision to recognize Zelensky or not, and on what conditions. There are no official statements yet. I am a proponent of not rushing and trying to recognize it in the near future. See what steps he will take, what statements he will make in his new capacity, whether he will actually revise the contractual relations that were with Poroshenko, see on what conditions (recognize - editor's note), work out and prepare these conditions.
A dialogue will arise anyway, we understand perfectly well, we will not escape this dialogue, but there is something that we cannot retreat from, because Donbass in no case can be a bargaining chip for us in anything. Even if tomorrow the entire world community, the Americans, the French, the Germans say: “We recognize Crimea, but the bargaining chip is Donbass,” we do not have the right to do this, we do not have the right to pay with Donbass,” the senator noted.
Sevastopol Senator Categorically Rejects Donbass-for-Crimea Exchange