‘Diplomacy moving slowly in Crimea’

Press TV has conducted an interview with Bill Jones, with the Executive Intelligence Review from Leesburg, about pro-Russian forces in Crimea closing the main airport in the regional capital, Simferopol, preventing all flights in and out, except those connecting to Moscow.

What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Mr. Jones, looking at the very critical point in time now for the Crimea region, what do you think about now the takeover of flights, the fact that only flights to and in from Moscow are allowed to operate?

Jones: Well obviously they are preparing for this referendum and they are going to prevent any kind of inflow of activists or other people coming in from the outside to take part in it or to try to influence it.

It also will be questionable in terms of the free and fair elections in this elections that is going to be held here, deciding whether or not Crimea will be autonomous but I think it is clear that they have seen previously the influx of the outsiders in the Kiev which helped to create this so-called new government and they do not want the same thing happening in Crimea so that they are taking defensive measures in order to carry out this referendum.

Press TV: But how conducive can all this be towards a peaceful resolution of this crisis? I mean with what’s being described as the military takeover now of this region, nobody allowed to come in and out from Kiev etc., you just explained there, I mean if this vote is held, those in Kiev are said they are not recognizing it, so is this just you know the beginning point for a big crisis that could even turn into a war?

Jones: It certainly could do that. There are a lot of voices saying that there should be a peaceful resolution but there are no meetings that have been held yet.

Secretary Kerry was invited to Moscow. He decided not to come and instead sent a list of questions to the Russians as to what would be the basis for any discussions that would be held in the future?

So that diplomacy is moving very slowly. The next step of course is this referendum which will go on Sunday after that occurs and it will probably lead to a decision by the voters to leave Ukraine. Then the question is how will the Russians react after that?

It is hard to say that the West at the present moment, now that they have helped install a government in Ukraine which in all its characteristics is anti-Russian, it is hard to say what they can offer to Russia to assure them that they would be able to maintain their bases in Crimea if they do not have some control over the area at large.

And that would be the crux of any kind of resolution short of Crimea joining the Russian Federation.