The result of Crimean referendum was already expected in Russian favor but does anyone know what would be the Putin’s next move? Experts hold the opinion that “All eyes are set over Putin and it is he who has to decide -whether to annex Crimea through steps- or to simply recognize the demand of Crimean through formal annexation.
It is said that if the recognition is done through steps by steps, it would take more than 2 weeks to complete, on the other hand, West is mounting more and more pressure on Russia to withdraw its forces from the Crimean peninsula.
It goes without saying, in the recent diplomatic meeting held at London, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov said to his U.S counterpart John Kerry that “Putin would decide what to do with Crimea after the referendum and he made this statement repeatedly in the entire meeting”.
Contrary to this, 28 members of European Union are planning to vote for embarking sheer sanctions against Russia. It is said that those sanctions will include; banning of Visa, seizure of European bank accounts and frozen of assets.
Besides, editor of Russian quarterly “Russia in Global Affairs,” Fyodor Lukyanov says that “Putin has already decided to annex with Crimea and no sanctions from west will deter him ,Putin does not care about what other say”.
Last but not the least, it is speculated that Crimea will undoubtedly be a part of Russia in few weeks to come but will Putin end at Crimea or will he go on subjugating eastern parts of Ukraine under the pretext of safeguarding the interest Russian speaking population?