The Consul General of Russia in Istanbul, Andrey Buravov, organised a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with the Russian Federation. Buravov called the unification the ‘Crimean Spring’. The Russian Consul General emphasised the importance of Vladimir Putin’s re-election victory in the Russian Federation for bilateral relations between Russia and Turkey.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the ‘Crimean Spring’, a photo exhibition was also presented at the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul. Consul General Andrey Buravov, who gave a detailed chronological assessment of the reunification of the historic peninsula with Russia, made the following statements to members of the press:
“The events of the ‘Crimean Spring’ cannot be seen in isolation from the general geopolitical context of relations between Russia and the West. These events became an expression of the fundamental qualitative changes that took place on the world stage after it became absolutely clear that it was increasingly impossible to establish an equal and mutually respectful dialogue between our country and the Western bloc led by the United States. Since the last years of the existence of the USSR and the first years of the existence of the new Russian state, Washington, considering our country to be significantly weakened and internally unstable, has made it a rule to impose its hegemony and approaches in all spheres.”
Andrey Buravov, commenting on the events escalating tensions between the West and Russia, said that Kiev wanted to do in Crimea what it had done in Donbass, but Russia prevented it:
“The inadmissibility of such an approach, which the Western powers had decided to adopt towards the new Russia from the very beginning, was clearly stated by V.V. Putin in his speech in Munich in 2007. A year later, a NATO summit was held in Bucharest, which paved the way for the accession of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO. In 2008, in defiance of Russia’s national interests, the West declared de facto war on us and showed that NATO would not take our country into account. The West provoked the then Georgian leadership into a military adventure in South Ossetia and continued to escalate without drawing any conclusions from our firm and resolute response. At the same time, Washington, together with its satellites, actually began to implement its plan to take Ukraine ‘in its arms’ and turn it into an instrument of deterrence and repression against Russia. This led to a coup d’état in Ukraine in February 2014, which brought openly nationalist and anti-Russian forces to power. These forces launched an open war against their own people in the Donbass and tried to do the same in Crimea. However, they were met by the determined attitude of the Crimean people, who did not want to become victims of nationalists and outcasts in their homeland.”
The Russian Consul General recalled that in the referendum held on 16 March 2014, 96.77% of the residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and 95.6% of the residents of Sevastopol voted in favour of reunification with Russia.
Buravov also answered journalists’ questions about the ongoing Western arms deliveries and the course of the conflict. The Russian consul general said he was aware that mercenaries and officers from some countries were serving on the Ukrainian front. Burarov, who believes that there is little chance of improving relations with the West in the short term, said that developments on this issue depend on the decisions to be taken in Western capitals.
Responding to questions about the security situation in Crimea, Buravov noted that despite certain problems, daily life was continuing and that major infrastructure investments were being made in the region.
