Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov. Photo: Artem Ivanov

Editor's Note: Global Times reporter Chang Meng interviewed Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov to discuss the current situation in Ukraine as Crimea prepares to go to the polls on Sunday in a vote that may dramatically influence the future of the region.

GT: How will Russia administrate Crimea if it decides to join Russia after the Sunday referendum? How will Russia deal with it if the referendum has the opposite result?

Denisov: It is too early to predict the results of the Sunday referendum. It is even more premature to contemplate Russia's actions with regard to the outcome. We reckon that only the people of Crimea have the right to determine their future and the future of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Nevertheless, we are closely monitoring the development of the situation. If the referendum brings that result [joining Russia] Crimea can turn to the Russian Federation with the proposition to accept the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation as a new constituent entity. In this case a respective interstate treaty between the Republic of Crimea and the Russian Federation would be needed, and if signed it should be approved by Russia's relevant authorities. So as you can see, the procedure is multilayered and quite complicated.  

Today we can only observe the situation and state that Russia will fully respect any results of the free will of the Crimean people at the referendum.

GT: If Ukraine eventually starts to turn to the Western camp, how will Russia handle the bilateral relations?

Denisov: As President Putin said, Russia's position on the situation in Ukraine is consistent. Russia is interested in a stable and powerful Ukraine, where the legal rights and interests of the Ukrainians, our compatriots and all nationals are enforced.

Russia has always considered Ukraine to not just be a neighbor but a fraternal state. Thus Russia is eager to maintain close ties with Ukraine under any circumstances. We believe that current instability in different regions of Ukraine is a direct consequence of careless actions by the new Ukrainian regime, which, in our perspective, is not fully legitimate.

We advocate normalization of the situation in Ukraine and call for the fulfillment of the 21 February agreement, which would mean the formation of a legitimate national unity government considering the interests of all political forces, all nationalities and regions of the country.

GT: How does Russia view and plan to tackle the sanction measures that the US and the EU have threatened to impose? What are their reasons for doing so?

Denisov: Indeed, the Russian Government has been hearing certain threats to "punish" Russia for sticking to its principled line with regard to the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. This aggrieves us a lot. These threats are obviously being used to put extra pressure on our country and to influence the Russian stance on some critical issues of international affairs. We consider such methods to be unconstructive and exacerbating tensions in bilateral and multilateral contact. Moreover if such sanctions are imposed, the harm will inevitably affect both sides and, according to many experts, Russia would not be the one who suffers more.

GT: China has a close strategic partnership with Russia and holds the principle of non-intervention. As the ambassador, how do you view China's role in solving the Ukraine crisis?

Denisov: Indeed, our bilateral relations with China have been on the incline. Despite the fact that they have always been very good, recently we can see a new drive for significant development. Today we may speak of "new heights"in our cooperation in all fields.

Leaders and foreign ministers of our countries have discussed the current crisis in Ukraine. We are very grateful to China for its balanced and principled position on this issue. Russia and China are making a significant contribution to international development and security. We hope that the closeness of our positions on Ukraine will become an important factor for stability in the region. 

GT: Some observers see the crisis as a Cold War scar. How would different resolutions influence the international situation and also Russia's relations with the US and the EU?

Denisov: The crisis in Ukraine has deep internal roots and is not about Russia-US or Russia-EU relationships. We regret that our Western partners are not always able to adequately perceive the changing reality and accept that it is not possible to impose their own will everywhere on the globe.

Still we express our sincere hope that the situation in Ukraine will pacify soon, contacts with our American and European counterparts will become more productive, and contribute to the normalization of the crisis.

GT: What is your comment regarding the recent postings on the official Sina Weibo account of your embassy, especially those refuting the moves of the US?

Denisov: I know that some of the blog postings on the Russian Embassy official Sina Weibo have triggered a broad discussion among netizens and in media. All of those postings reflect the official position of the Russian Federation and are strictly in line with the statements recently made by Russian officials.

I noticed that the online community was particularly interested in the statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman A.Lukashevich commenting on the distortion of facts by the US Department of State. We are indeed concerned with some cases of applying "double standards" in international affairs and misinterpreting reality which only result in escalation of tensions around developments in Ukraine and Crimea. Thus we feel the need to provide the Chinese public with our insights and express our hope for more followers.

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