The former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s Advisor Thomas Graham, a possible candidate for the post of the new United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation, gave pieces of advice how to make Crimea Russian.
In an interview to the Voice of America he states that the Crimean crisis must be resolved in the near future:
“I think the Crimean issue must be resolved as soon as possible. A solution acceptable to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington and the European capitals needs to be found. I think Moscow is interested in legitimizing its control over Crimea,” said Thomas Graham.
Video by Voice of America (full text of interview – on VOA website)
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Thomas Graham states that the United States can render assistance in solving the Crimean issue by paying compensation to the Ukrainian side or by holding a new referendum on the peninsula.
“I would advise Moscow to creatively approach the Crimean issue, and the United States can render assistance in this. These may include compensation to the Ukrainian side or holding a new referendum, given doubts about the legitimacy of the first Russia status referendum,” stated a possible candidate for the post of the new U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation.
“Maybe this is not the first priority in the U.S.-Russian relations, but I guess it can be solved in the next 5-10 years,” added Thomas Graham.
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6 January 2017
An excellent approach. Finally a viable, fair proposal. Makes sense to me.