Moscow can use the presence of official Western observers at the Russian military drills Caucasus 2016 in the occupied Crimea for the attempt to legitimize the illegal annexation of Ukrainian peninsula.
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine and the expert of influential American analytical center Brookings Institution Stephen Pifer wrote this on Twitter, the Voice of America reports.
So Pifer commented on reports that the Russia Defense Ministry has invited the Western military attaché to observe the large-scale military drillss in the Southern Military District of Russia.
"Russia demonstrates transparency, inviting Western diplomats in the Crimea, but if they accept the invitation, Moscow will claim that in this way they have recognized the annexation of the Crimea by Russia", wrote Pifer.
#Russia holding military exercise in illegally occupied #Crimea. Def Ministry apparently invited Western military attaches to observe. 1/2
— Steven Pifer (@steven_pifer) 9 сентября 2016 г.
Transparent #Russia effort to get Western diplomats to #Crimea, which some in Moscow would then claim constituted "recognition." 2/2
— Steven Pifer (@steven_pifer) 9 сентября 2016 г.
Recall that Ukraine is deeply concerned with the conducting of the military drills Caucasus 2016 near state border as a large-scale build-up of interspecific forces in the occupied territories and on the border of Ukraine and bringing it to the highest alert shows the growth of a direct military threat to Ukraine.
Source: Voice of America
