After the vote in Crimea, the reactions in the Western world are quite similar. The US, as the belgian prime minister Didier Reynders as the whole European Union establishment rejected the vote of the crimean people as illegal. We, at Brusselsdiplomatic.com do have a more nuanced view. We come back on this shortly.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz made the following statement on Sunday’s referendum in Crimea.

“I regret that this referendum took place as it was illegitimate, illegal and has complicated future efforts to resolve the crisis. This ballot was valid neither under the Ukrainian nor international law. The European Parliament fully supports territorial integrity of Ukraine. A united Ukraine must be able to determine its future freely. I would like to repeat my condemnation of Russia’s military incursion into Crimea. It was a breach of international law and a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. Arguments that a military action is needed to protect an ethnic minority were often used in that in past, with disastrous consequences.”