West's Refusal To Recognise Crimea As Russian A Threat: Ex Russia President
NDTV
"If any other state, be it Ukraine or NATO countries, believes that Crimea is not Russian, then this is a systemic threat for us," former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev told World War Two veterans, the Interfax news agency reported.
The refusal of Ukraine and NATO powers to recognise Moscow's authority over Crimea represents a "systemic threat" for Russia, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after a pro-Moscow president in Kyiv was toppled amid mass street protests. Moscow then also backed pro-Russian armed separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
"If any other state, be it Ukraine or NATO countries, believes that Crimea is not Russian, then this is a systemic threat for us," Medvedev told World War Two veterans, the Interfax news agency reported.
"This is a direct and an explicit threat, especially given what had happened to Crimea. Crimea returned to Russia," said Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.
