It’s not “key to peace” but “rifle for war” that Putin holds – ex-PM Yatsenyuk

This was emphasized during the Kyiv Security Forum by its chairman, ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014-2016) Arseniy Yatsenyuk, during an opening address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The politician stressed that in 2014, Putin made it clear that he recognizes no lines or international law: "He has a task. The task is to restore the Soviet Union."

Since 2014, Yatsenyuk noted, the Russian threat has only been growing.

“Suggestions are often voiced that the key to peace in Ukraine lies in the Kremlin, in the hands of Vladimir Putin. I strongly disagree with this idea. It’s not the ‘key to peace’ in Vladimir Putin’s hands, it’s an automatic rifle for war against Ukraine, a war against Europe, an automatic rifle for war against the whole democratic western world," Yatsenyuk said.

According to the former head of government, that is why Putin has no right to draw any “red lines” for others.

“I believe that Ukraine and our Western partners should clearly draw the ‘red lines’ that Putin's Russia cannot cross under any circumstances. Our ‘red line’ in relations with Russia and Putin is the line of our state border , which should pass through the territory where Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, are an integral part of the Ukrainian state," said Yatsenyuk.

The politician recalled that during the 1991 referendum, 54% of Crimea residents voted for Ukraine's independence. In the port city of Sevastopol, it was 57% and in Luhansk and Donetsk it was 83%.

"These figures are an answer to whether Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, and Luhansk are indeed Ukrainian: yes, they are and will be," Yatsenyuk stressed.

The Kyiv Security Forum was established by Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007. It is an annual event offering a platform for a high-level discussion on topical issues of national security.