Ousted Ukraine leader says inviting Russia into Crimea was wrong
Yanukovych hopes to reverse annexation
ROSTOV-ON-DON, RUSSIA — In his first interview since fleeing to Russia, Ukraine’s ousted president said Wednesday he was “wrong” to have invited Russian troops into Crimea and vowed to try to persuade Russia to return the coveted Black Sea peninsula.
Defensive and at times teary-eyed, Viktor Yanukovych told The Associated Press and Russia’s state NTV television that he still hopes to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to get the annexed region back.
“Crimea is a tragedy, a major tragedy,” the 63-year-old Yanukovych said, insisting that Russia’s takeover of Crimea wouldn’t have happened if he had stayed in power. He fled Ukraine in February after three months of protests focused on corruption and on his decision to seek closer ties to Russia instead of the European Union.
Yanukovych denied the allegations of corruption. He also denied responsibility for the sniper deaths of about 80 protesters in Kyiv in February, for which he has been charged by Ukraine’s interim government.
While Putin has been openly dismissive of Yanukovych, the Russian president has also described him as the legitimate leader and his ouster as illegal. Yanukovych’s statement about Crimea appeared to represent an attempt to shore up at least some support in his homeland, where even his supporters have deserted him.
Russia annexed Crimea last month following a hastily called referendum held two weeks after Russian troops took control of the region. Ukraine and the West have rejected the vote and the annexation as illegal.
While Russia can hardly be expected to roll back its annexation, Yanukovych’s statement could widen Putin’s options in the talks on settling the Ukrainian crisis by creating an impression that Moscow could be open for discussions on Crimea’s status in the future.
Yanukovych said he has spoken with Putin twice by phone and once in person since he arrived in Russia, describing their talks as “difficult.”
“We must search for ways … so that Crimea may have the maximum degree of independence possible… but be part of Ukraine,” he said.
Putin said last month that Yanukovych had asked Russia to send its troops to Ukraine to protect its people — a request seen as treason by many Ukrainians. Asked about the move, Yanukovych said he had made a mistake.
“I was wrong,” he said. “I acted on my emotions.”
Yanukovych did not answer several questions about whether he would support Russia — which has deployed tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border — moving into Ukraine to protect ethnic Russians, the justification Putin used to take Crimea.