KYIV. April 14 (Interfax) - The situation in the southeastern regions of Ukraine should be resolved through negotiations and without using violence, Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the party Batkivschyna and a presidential candidate, said.
"The first option is the immediate use of force, which is almost certain to lead to large-scale bloodshed and most likely to appropriate aggression from the Russian Federation. I believe responsible leaders of the country can't accept such an option. And everyone hopes for that now. If the top officials of the foreign ministries, such important players, are now meeting in Geneva, it shows that the whole world is now focused on Ukraine and is trying to resolve Ukraine's problems," Tymoshenko said on a program aired on Ukraina television on Sunday evening.
Tymoshenko said that "the people who now live in Ukraine, in its eastern, western, and southern regions, do not want a war."
"However, if Russia begins crossing the borders of continental Ukraine, if it begins doing what it did in Crimea on the territory of our eastern or southern regions, our Ukrainian regions, the Ukrainian National Guard is now ready to offer tough resistance, in particular, military," Tymoshenko said.
Tymoshenko believes that the exacerbation of the situation in the region is a step taken by Russia before the planned four-party negotiations on the situation in Ukraine. "Negotiations between U.S., EU, Russian, and Ukrainian officials begin in Geneva. The situation is being exacerbated to ensure that these negotiations take place under a lot of pressure, to make it possible, in Russia's opinion, to give ultimatums," Tymoshenko said.
"The first thing they are demanding is the legalization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. And they want to pay us money for that. The second thing that they are demanding is that we adopt a new Constitution of Ukraine using the guidelines proposed by the Russian Federation, which, in particular, envisage federalization as a foundation for the further division of the territory of Ukraine. They are also demanding the creation of a new government, which will include people proposed by the Russian Federation. They are also raising the question about not joining the EU, non-cooperation with collective security and defense systems. In other words, it's a new colonization of Ukraine," she said, adding that Russia will use the "gas" issue as "another weapon of attack."
Tymoshenko said one of the main conditions for stabilization of the situation in Ukraine is a timely presidential election.
"The elections should take place on May 25. They should by no means be rescheduled. Because the election of the president is an element of the stabilization of the situation in Ukraine, it's a full-fledged negotiation process, it's a legislative administration, which is unquestionable. It's the beginning of stabilization and restoration of order in the country," she said.
According to earlier reports, Ukrainian Parliament Speaker and acting president Oleksandr Turchynov said on Sunday the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council had decided to involve Ukrainian troops in the anti-terrorist operation in the eastern regions of Ukraine. "We will not let Russia repeat the Crimean scenario in the eastern region of Ukraine," he said.
Turchynov also said the Ukrainian administration has done everything to prevent casualties. "However, we are ready to resist the attempts of invasion, destabilization, and terrorism with weapons," he said.