It's possible to solve the problem of the status of Crimea through a new referendum, which would have been recognized by the international community, well-known British historian Dominic Lieven said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of the official opening of the Annual ‘Valdai’ Meeting in Sochi.
According to him, "they just need to freeze the conflict in Ukraine, to slow it down".
"I would say that in the future we need a new referendum with international observers in Crimea. So it would be possible to give Crimea the status of the part of Russia from the legitimate international point of view. In my personal opinion, it is foolish that Crimea didn't belong to Russia. Ukraine has enough problems already. For the future Ukraine it's against its own interests to have Crimea within Ukraine with Russian majority," he said.
"Donbass and Eastern Ukraine is more difficult question. But in principle, this problem can be solved by providing an autonomy to these regions, but within Ukraine. Preservation of boundaries of modern Ukraine is the best way out of this crisis. But, of course, it is easier said than done, because the Ukrainian government is under strong internal pressure," Dominic Lieven concluded.
