Radosław Sikorski for BBC: We should protect Ukraine's territorial integrity
"Ukraine has given up voluntarily its nuclear weapons. And in return she received guarantees from the United States, United Kingdom and Russia of her independence, inviolability of her borders and freedom from pressures, for example trade boycotts," recalled Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in an interview with Jeremy Paxman on BBC Newsnight. The interview centred on Ukraine and took place after a meeting with William Hague. "Think of what signal were to be sent to places like North Korea and Iran, of the value of our guarantees in return for dropping nuclear ambitions, if we don't protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine," argued the chief of Polish diplomacy.
During the programme, the minister commented on the crisis in Ukraine. "I think—after World War Two and after the Cold War—we have agreed in the international community that when there are ethnic disputes across national boundaries we try to overcome the boundaries and to fulfil the rights of citizens without changing boundaries by force, which is how the Second World War started," argued the minister. "It can be done provided you use institutions that we've created for those purposes." The minister pointed out that there are ways to express a wish to belong to another country constitutionally and not by force. "We all have constitutions. You're going to have a referendum in Scotland but it's done by consensus, not by breaking existing law," emphasised the minister. Radosław Sikorski also admitted we have no idea what the majority of the people of Crimea want "because they have not been asked". "And it's unlikely they will be democratically asked," opined the head of the Polish foreign ministry, and added that if the majority of the people in Crimea wanted more autonomy within Ukraine that was something that the Ukrainian government would consider.
Commenting on possible sanctions against Russia, the minister stressed that "the European Council has decided that there will be consequences [for Russia]". Minister Sikorski remarked that all countries are reluctant about that because they all have commercial relations with Russia. "But the principle of not changing borders by force is an important one and the European Council has decided that, just like the United States, Europe will impose visa bans and asset freezes," said the chief of Polish diplomacy.
http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/
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