THE TELEGRAPH: Kyiv must act to avert crisis
DONETSK election commission chairman Roman Lyagin on Monday announced the final result of Sunday’s referendum on independence for the new “People’s Republic” — cheerfully heedless of the fact that the total of the yes, no and spoilt votes exceeded 100%.
As UK Foreign Secretary William Hague rightly observed, this contest was illegitimate and had “zero credibility”.
Yet for all its surreal elements, the outcome was deadly serious. The most populous regions of Ukraine, with 4.5-million people and the industrial backbone of the economy, now stand on the verge of joining Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s new post-revolutionary government has no answer to the challenge.
However, there may yet be a way out of the crisis. One of the referendum’s absurdities was a vague question that asked voters to assent to “self-rule”. If Kyiv were to open talks with the pro-Russian movement and offer autonomy, that might allow both sides to step back from the brink.
It is asking a lot for the government to negotiate with allies of Russia, particularly as the Kremlin is again threatening to turn off Ukraine’s gas, but the alternative would be even worse. Without a bold and conciliatory move by Kyiv, the dismemberment of Ukraine looks inevitable.
London, May 13