KYIV. March 18 (Interfax) - Ukraine should clearly determine its attitude towards Russia's proposals on resolving the situation surrounding it, otherwise major international players could encroach on Kyiv from the outside, former Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Chaly said on Freedom of Speech program on the ICTV channel on March 17.
"This document [the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry] was addressed to Americans but these are proposals for now. They are talking about creating a certain contact group, which would work together. This means that Russians and Americans are discussing this. Now, when this has emerged to the public, we have said that this is an ultimatum and we are not talking about it. Tomorrow they will agree with the Americans on this document and these proposals will come to us not from Russia but from the United States," Chaly said.
Ukraine should announce its attitude to each proposal Russia has made, Chaly said.
"The first section is to disarm everyone, who is carrying arms illegally. It means for me, as a diplomat, to do this in Crimea, in Kyiv and in Donetsk. To investigate the events at Maidan under the aegis of an international committee - this is the demand of all of us. So why don't we say that some sections we dismiss completely and other issues could be discussed?" the former deputy minister said.
It has been reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry said on March 17 that Russia was ready to establish an international mechanism for resolving the Ukrainian crisis - a compact group of support to Ukraine. Russia said it considered slow steps on passing a new federative constitution of Ukraine as on the purposes of the international group. Moscow supports the guaranteed military and political status of Ukraine and stipulating it in the UN Security Council resolution, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in the statement. The Russian language should get the status of the second state language and this should be stipulated in the Ukrainian constitution, the document said.
"The decision on approving the new constitution draft is made by the constitutional assembly based on the agreement of all participants. The draft constitution is submitted for nation-wide referendum," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. After the constitution is passed Ukraine should hold simultaneous elections of central and regional authorities.