By Vestnik Kavkaza
Yesterday Vladimir Kolokoltsev, the Russian Minister for Internal Affairs, made a report on prevention of extremism and providing social security as part of the governmental hour in the Federation Council. The session took place behind closed doors. However, after the meeting Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Federation Council, told journalists that “today extremism causes special concerns, as extremism is a threat to the peace, stability and security of the country in all its forms.” Senators asked the Minister about measures which are being taken by the Interior Ministry, what the tendencies are, whether legislation should be changed or reformed so that the police structures have sufficient rights and functions to fight extremism effectively. “The final document will be ready by April 15th. It will contain all our recommendations, including the interests of the regions,” Matviyenko promised.
Integration of Crimea
Answering a question on the integration of Crimea into the legal terrain of the RF, the speaker of the Federation Council said: “A year has passed since Crimea and Sevastopol joined the Russian Federation. But it seems it hasn’t been gone at all and it has always been Russian. Crimea has integrated into the Russian legal, economic, and social space organically and quickly. The authorities of Crimea and the federal bodies, both the executive and legislative power, have done a lot of work in this period. According to social opinion polls – Russian and foreign – the attitude of Crimea’s residents hasn’t changed; they haven’t been disappointed in their choice. This is the main thing, as we can move forward only with the population’s support.”
Matviyenko expressed hope that “Crimea, which has huge economic, natural, resort, tourist and agricultural potential, will be a self-sufficient region and a driver for economic and social development in Russia. A large number of laws have been adopted at all levels – federal and regional. Moreover, the federal target program requires allocation of 650 billion rubles by 2020; these are significant resources, which are necessary. And the investments will pay off without any doubts. When infrastructure is established, when conditions for investments and business are created, they will pay off and return to the budget more than once.”
The speaker of the Federation Council also supported the idea of establishing a free economic zone in Crimea: “I am sure that many Russian and foreign companies would like to work in Crimea under such beneficial conditions. Of course, we should eliminate excessive bureaucracy in our system. Unfortunately, this is our common problem in Russia. Processes of issuing licenses for business are excessively bureaucratic. Crimea can be a pioneer, not only a free economic zone, but also a free zone for business. The authorities understand this clearly and are developing their regional laws.”
An important component of Crimea’s integration is involvement of Russian regions into the methodological, legal, and material support of local municipal structures, according to Matviyenko: “The Federation Council addressed regions, and they responded to our call. We summed up the results of the year. The results are very positive. However, it doesn’t mean we have finished our work. On the contrary, we will involve more and more regions of the Federation into providing the Republic of Crimea with the necessary aid.”
The speaker highly appreciated the work of the Crimean authorities: “They are working under difficult conditions. Administrative structures were established at zero level, as well as the court system, prosecution service, and so on. These are firm, courageous, good people who were elected by the population. Good job!”
Parliamentary dimension of "Normandy Quartet"Speaking about the situation in the east of Ukraine, Russian Federation Council chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko spoke about the possibility of the formation of a parliamentary format in the 'Normandy Quartet': "The Chairman of the French Senate is in favor of it. He found support in the German Bundestag. The relevant committee of the Bundestag supports this idea. There are still questions about the lower house of the French parliament. And we have not heard any feedback from the Verkhovnaya Rada yet. Well, it’s okay, we have enough patience. We will show restraint, we will offer cooperation formats, and then we will see who wants to work, who wants a dialogue, and who does not want it. I hope that the deputies of the Verkhovnaya Rada will understand their responsibility. And without a dialogue with government guarantees, the implementation of the Minsk agreements on a parliamentary level will not work. Therefore, we expect and hope that this awareness will come. We are open and ready for such dialogue. We will continue our working consultations."Possible supplies of US weapons to UkraineCommenting on the resolution of the US Congress, which advised President Barack Obama to supply weapons to Ukraine, Matviyenko said: "This document is a recommendation, and fully transfers the decision-making responsibility to the President of the United States. I hope that US president will remember that he won the Nobel Peace Prize, and decides against supplying of arms, which is sowing death. In fact, such resolutions are dangerous, and they are blowing up the peace process. The determination to go to a transitional peaceful settlement of the crisis in Ukraine is clearly stated in the Minsk agreements. And the decisions, like the one that was made by Congress, is an act of support for the war party in Ukraine. The war party is strong in Ukraine, and it is winning, with varying success. We know that the truce was broken three times by the Ukrainian armed forces, and today's fragile truce should be supported, nurtured by peace initiatives, and not by resolutions of possible supply of lethal weapons."Violation of the Minsk agreementsThe speaker of the Federation Council also criticized the training of Ukrainian soldiers by American and British instructors: "This is not a peace initiative, it is aimed at supporting the war party. On the part of the Ukrainian authorities, we see the manifestation of an unwillingness to strictly follow the Minsk agreements, in which it is clearly stated that only two sides of the conflict - the south-east, represented by Donbass and Lugansk, and Kiev - should agree on the format of the autonomy, on the region's rights, on the conditions of the elections. Instead, (I'm not even talking about the fact that they refuse to negotiate) a law was passed that does not satisfy the DPR or LPR, because it is about the "clean-up" of all the authorities, which were elected by the people. It is obvious what authorities will come there, what power, and what the outcome of these elections would be."
Parliamentary dimension of "Normandy Quartet"
Speaking about the situation in the east of Ukraine, Russian Federation Council chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko spoke about the possibility of the formation of a parliamentary format in the 'Normandy Quartet': "The Chairman of the French Senate is in favor of it. He found support in the German Bundestag. The relevant committee of the Bundestag supports this idea. There are still questions about the lower house of the French parliament. And we have not heard any feedback from the Verkhovnaya Rada yet. Well, it’s okay, we have enough patience. We will show restraint, we will offer cooperation formats, and then we will see who wants to work, who wants a dialogue, and who does not want it. I hope that the deputies of the Verkhovnaya Rada will understand their responsibility. And without a dialogue with government guarantees, the implementation of the Minsk agreements on a parliamentary level will not work. Therefore, we expect and hope that this awareness will come. We are open and ready for such dialogue. We will continue our working consultations."
Possible supplies of US weapons to Ukraine
Commenting on the resolution of the US Congress, which advised President Barack Obama to supply weapons to Ukraine, Matviyenko said: "This document is a recommendation, and fully transfers the decision-making responsibility to the President of the United States. I hope that US president will remember that he won the Nobel Peace Prize, and decides against supplying of arms, which is sowing death. In fact, such resolutions are dangerous, and they are blowing up the peace process. The determination to go to a transitional peaceful settlement of the crisis in Ukraine is clearly stated in the Minsk agreements. And the decisions, like the one that was made by Congress, is an act of support for the war party in Ukraine. The war party is strong in Ukraine, and it is winning, with varying success. We know that the truce was broken three times by the Ukrainian armed forces, and today's fragile truce should be supported, nurtured by peace initiatives, and not by resolutions of possible supply of lethal weapons."
Violation of the Minsk agreements
The speaker of the Federation Council also criticized the training of Ukrainian soldiers by American and British instructors: "This is not a peace initiative, it is aimed at supporting the war party. On the part of the Ukrainian authorities, we see the manifestation of an unwillingness to strictly follow the Minsk agreements, in which it is clearly stated that only two sides of the conflict - the south-east, represented by Donbass and Lugansk, and Kiev - should agree on the format of the autonomy, on the region's rights, on the conditions of the elections. Instead, (I'm not even talking about the fact that they refuse to negotiate) a law was passed that does not satisfy the DPR or LPR, because it is about the "clean-up" of all the authorities, which were elected by the people. It is obvious what authorities will come there, what power, and what the outcome of these elections would be."
Do we need peacekeepers in Ukraine?
Matvienko also reminded that Kiev officially addresses the UN with a request to send peacekeeping forces: "In this way they express their doubts that the OSCE is coping with its mission. However, the international community celebrates the successful work of the OSCE mission in monitoring the progress of the Minsk Agreement, particularly the military part. Moreover, it was decided to increase the number of employees of the OSCE mission to 1000 people. These people, who sometimes risk their lives, do their job honestly. Probably, Kiev is not satisfied that the reports of the OSCE mission express their honest views that the majority of violations of the Minsk Agreement and the ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy machinery do not refer to the militia of the DPR and LPR, but to the armed forces of Ukraine. Maybe they do not like such conclusions. This is another example of how they try to blur the Minsk Agreement, to put it to the side to avoid responsibility for implementing them.
All of these actions suggest that we cannot exclude a resumption of the armed phase of the conflict. This is unacceptable. Therefore, Russia is persistently working under pressure from both sides for the strict implementation of the Minsk Agreement. And we will continue this work, including the parliamentary line. "
Conflict of politicians-oligarchs
Commenting on the decree of Poroshenko to dismiss Igor Kolomoisky as head of the Dnepropetrovsk regional state administration, Matvienko said that "Unfortunately, the economic and political reforms that are required from Ukraine weren't carried out after the change of government. Before the Maidan, Ukraine was a country with classic oligarchic control, when the economy and resources were distributed among clans, when ministerial posts and seats in parliament were also distributed among the clans, and they all had a greater or lesser degree of influence support through their deputies. All the oligarchs had and still have their own channels through which they are pursuing the policies of their interests.
After the Maidan, nothing has changed, but more than that, some oligarchs have brought their own armed forces, I would say gangs. When Kolomoisky participated in punitive operations through his gangs, when the blood of civilians was shed in Odessa, Mariupol and other cities, the Kiev authorities were silent, they were satisfied. They did not make relevant assessments. But when another redistribution of property and possessions started, it caused specific actions.
This is a classic example of a continuing struggle of oligarchs, of the Ukrainian domestic struggle for a "piece of the pie." The threat in the form of the oligarchy wasn't reduced - on the contrary, it is increasing. This suggests that it is too early to speak about statehood, about the state institutions of Ukraine. We often talk about the fact that Ukraine, declaring its sovereignty and independence, is actually under external control. The US Ambassador summoned Kolomoisky to tell him how he should behave himself. That's the limit. An oligarchic war will not lead to anything better than further division, further deterioration of the economic situation and the impoverishment of the people."
