Russian opposition politician called on the Kremlin to 'fix a political mistake' with the Crimea
The leader of the Russian opposition political party Yabloko, Grigory Yavlinsky, called on the leadership of Russia to "fix the political error" with the Crimea and solve this issue in accordance with all the international legal norms.
Yavlinsky expressed this opinion on his blog. According to him, "the Kremlin persists and does not want to admit that a gross mistake was made [with the Crimea] that has already driven Russia into isolation, turning [Russia] into a target for sanctions."
"Over the period of 2014 to 2017, Russia's losses as a result of financial sanctions will amount to about $170 billion, or more than 9.5 trillion rubles. This means that if sanctions are lifted, Russia will be able, for example, to increase all pensions by about 30%, increase the consolidated health budget by 78.7% and by the same margin increase the consolidated education budget as well. Also, we would be able to triple the average salary of all Russian doctors," Yavlinsky wrote.
To overcome this situation, the politician suggested organizing and holding a legitimate referendum in the annexed Crimea that would be under international control.
"[This should be done] so that the results of this referendum would correspond to all the international legal norms. To implement this, it will be necessary to convene an international conference on the Crimea with the participation of all interested parties at the initiative of Russia and Ukraine. The decisions of the conference will be binding for both Moscow and Kyiv," the Yavlinsky explained.
In September 2016, Yavlinsky said that for Russia to fight with Ukraine is "an absolute and complete shame." In February of the same year, delegates to the Yabloko Congress elected Yavlinsky a Russian presidential candidate from their party. The party also stated "the need [for Russia] to recognize Ukraine's sovereignty within the borders of 2013."
In July 2016, delegates to the Yabloko Congress approved a new party program for elections to the State Duma (Russian Parliament) that stated that “the Crimea belongs to Ukraine; its annexation is illegal and should be abolished."