Kremlin distances itself from Putin’s aide’s statements on Ukraine

(Interfax – June 10, 2014) The Kremlin has distanced itself from statements by presidential adviser Sergey Glazyev, which he made at a roundtable discussion on the Ukrainian crisis in Moscow on Tuesday 10 June, the Russian Interfax news agency reported on 10 June.

A senior source in the Kremlin once again stressed that “all thoughts and suggestions of Sergey Glazyev are his personal views on current events”.

Earlier Glazyev said that Donbass (Ukraine’s Donetsk Region) had a high economic potential. “Ukraine is facing a decline in living standards, at least by a third, a decline in industrial production and depreciation of the hryvnia. In Donbass, on the contrary, there are opportunities to raise the standard of living by a third,” Glazyev said.

According to him, the region has enough resources to use its own financial system. “If Kiev switches off the payment systems, Donbass is able to create its own banking system independently. Donbass has capabilities to have its own currency. All this may require two to three months,” Glazyev said.

According to the website of mass-circulation Russian newspaper Moskovskiy Komsomolets [1], which quoted unspecified Ukrainian media reports, Glazyev also suggested that a no-fly zone should be introduced over the south-east of Ukraine, following the example of the USA’s actions in Libya, and that Ukrainian armoured vehicles should be destroyed. According to Glazyev, this can still be done now but it would be too late six months later.

“To do this, it would be enough to introduce a no-fly zone and use the same mechanism to suppress military equipment which was used by the Americans in Libya, who initially introduced a no-fly zone, then delivered air strikes on armoured vehicles, artillery and aircraft, and thus made the regime with which they fought unfit for combat. We still have an opportunity to do so, but in six months we won’t have it,” Glazyev said.