Crimea Quotes

• Why does the U.S. care which flag will be hoisted on a small piece of land thousands of miles away?

  Ron Paul

  Land, Usa, America

  "Ron Paul: Crimea secedes. So what?". www.usatoday.com. March 17, 2014.

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• Crimea has always been and remains Russian, as well as Ukrainian, Crimean-Tatar, Greek (after all, there are Greeks living there) and German - and it will be home to all of those peoples. As for state affiliation, the people living in Crimea made their choice; it should be treated with respect, and Russia cannot do otherwise. I hope that our neighbouring and distant partners will ultimately treat this the same way, since in this case, the highest criteria used to establish the truth can only be the opinion of the people themselves.

  Vladimir Putin

  Home, Russia, People

  Interview with Vladimir Solovyov, en.kremlin.ru. February 23, 2015.

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• The G7 and former G8 group has always viewed itself as a community of values, the annexation of Crimea, which is a blatant violation of the principles of international law, and the events in eastern Ukraine are serious violations of these common values.

  Angela Merkel

  Ukraine, Law, Community

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• The most obvious risk was that the Russian speaking population was threatened and that the threats were absolutely specific and tangible. This is what made Crimean residents, the people who live there, think about their future and ask Russia for help. This is what guided our decision.

  Vladimir Putin

  Thinking, Russia, People

  Vladimir Putin during a Question-and-Answer Session, www.washingtonpost.com. April 17, 2014.

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• Putin never wanted all of Ukraine. He wanted for historical purposes to take Crimea. He did. Then he wanted a part of Ukraine that he could always use to advance Russian interests. And he is now at a point where nobody in the West is shouting, hey, stop. Give us back Crimea. It's all accepted. And so he has won.

  Marvin Kalb

  Ukraine, Giving, Historical

  Source: www.pbs.org

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• They are constantly trying to drive us into a corner because we have an independent position, because we maintain it and because we tell it like it is and don't engage in hypocrisy. But there is a limit to everything. And with Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed the line, playing the bear and acting irresponsibly and unprofessionally.

  Vladimir Putin

  Powerful, Independent, Ukraine

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• Russia had to take the necessary measures in order to prevent the situation in Crimea unfolding the way it is now unfolding in southeastern Ukraine. We didn't want any tanks, any nationalist combat units or people with extreme views armed with automatic weapons.

  Vladimir Putin

  Russia, Ukraine, Views

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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• The people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.

  Donald Trump

  Russia, People, Heard

  "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, abcnews.go.com. July 31, 2016.

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• NATO remains a military alliance, and we are against having a military alliance making itself at home right in our own backyard; in our historic territory. I simply cannot imagine that we would travel to Sevastopol to visit NATO sailors. Of course, most of them are wonderful guys, but it would be better to have them come and visit us, be our guests, rather than the other way round.

  Vladimir Putin

  Powerful, Military, Home

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• The minute Putin went into Crimea, what Obama should have done is sent 50,000 troops to NATO. He didn't have to engage them, just send them. That puts the fear of God into people.

  Rudy Giuliani

  Should Have, People, Troops

  "Is the Confederate flag controversy a Democratic problem?". "The Hannity Show", www.foxnews.com. June 25, 2015.

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• Today, it is imperative to end this hysteria, to refute the rhetoric of the Cold War and to accept the obvious fact: Russia is an independent, active participant in international affairs. Like other countries, it has its own national interests that need to be taken into account and respected.

  Vladimir Putin

  Country, Powerful, War

  Vladimir Putin “VLADIMIR PUTIN: Munich”, ITBM

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• America does, in the future, need to have a conversation with and try to move forward with Russia. But what we don't need is to do that in a manner that seems to approve or not hold them accountable for some pretty wrong actions that they have taken across the past, starting in '08 with the invasion of Georgia and then in '14, the invasion of Crimea, and then subsequently, the invasion of the Donbass - and frankly, some of the way they have conducted their self in Syria.

  Philip M. Breedlove

  Moving, Taken, Past

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• They act as they please: here and there, they use force against sovereign states, building coalitions based on the principle 'If you are not with us, you are against us.' To make this aggression look legitimate, they force the necessary resolutions from international organizations, and if for some reason this does not work, they simply ignore the UN Security Council and the UN overall.

  Vladimir Putin

  Powerful, Organization, Here And There

  Address to Duma deputies, Federation Council members, heads of Russian regions and civil society representatives in the Kremlin, en.kremlin.ru. March 18, 2014.

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• What Secretary Ash Carter is looking at is the constant pressure that Russia's putting on our European allies. The way that Russia is trying to move the boundaries of the post-World War II Europe. The way that he is trying to set European countries against one another, seizing territory, holding it in Crimea. Beginning to explore whether they could make some inroads in the Baltics.

  Hillary Clinton

  Country, War, Moving

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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• Some Western politicians are already threatening us with not just sanctions, but also the prospect of increasingly serious problems on the domestic front. I would like to know what it is they have in mind exactly: action by a fifth column, this disparate bunch of 'national traitors', or are they hoping to put us in a worsening social and economic situation so as to provoke public discontent? We consider such statements irresponsible and clearly aggressive in tone, and we will respond to them accordingly.

  Vladimir Putin

  Powerful, Threatening Us, Mind

  "Prince Charles is right: Similarites between Putin and Hitler are uncanny" by Trent Franks, www.foxnews.com. May 23, 2014.

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• I believe that the Europeans, first and foremost, the Germans, will also understand me. Let me remind you that in the course of political consultations on the unification of East and West Germany... some nations that were then and are now Germany's allies did not support the idea of unification. Our nation, however, unequivocally supported the sincere, unstoppable desire of the Germans for national unity. I am confident that you have not forgotten this, and I expect that the citizens of Germany will also support the aspiration of the Russians, of historical Russia, to restore unity.

  Vladimir Putin

  Powerful, Believe, Russia

  Address by President of the Russian Federation, en.kremlin.ru. March 18, 2014.

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• I think, clearly, we got to work closely with China to resolve the serious problems we have, and I worry about Putin and his military adventurism in the Crimea and the Ukraine.

  Bernie Sanders

  Military, Thinking, Ukraine

  Bernie Sanders during Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, www.nytimes.com. February 5, 2016.

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• With all of these strong ties to NATO, Ukraine is a mess. Crimea has been taken. Don't blame Donald Trump for that.

  Donald Trump

  Strong, Taken, Ukraine

  Source: abcnews.go.com

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• Our task was not to conduct a full-fledged military operation there [in Crimea], but it was to ensure people's safety and security and a comfortable environment to express their will. We did that. But it would not have been possible without the Crimeans' own strong resolution.

  Vladimir Putin

  Strong, Military, People

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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• Napoleon once said that justice is the incarnation of God on Earth. I'm telling you: the reunification of Crimea and Russia is just.

  Vladimir Putin

  Russia, Justice, Earth

  Source: www.businessinsider.com

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• Hillary Clinton's top priority when she became secretary of state was the Russian reset. The Russian reset. After the Russian reset, the Russians invaded Ukraine and took over Crimea.

  Mike Pence

  Ukraine, Priorities, Clinton

  Source: www.politico.com

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• I'll tell what reckless is. What reckless is is calling [Bashar] Assad a reformer. What reckless is allowing Russia to come into Crimea and Ukraine. What reckless is is inviting Russia into Syria to team with Iran. That is reckless. And the reckless people are the folks in the White House right now. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are the reckless people.

  Chris Christie

  Team, Russia, Ukraine

  "Rush Transcript second debate: CNN Facebook Republican Presidential Debate", cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com. December 16, 2015.

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• I'm asking : if the Kosovars have the right to self-determination, why should people on Crimea not have it? I would say: everyone should comply with uniform international rules and not want to change them any time one feels like it.

  Vladimir Putin

  Determination, Self, People

  Source: www.businessinsider.com

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• I'm very pleased this military engagement together with a political road map that we developed, we were able to continue. We want to bring about a political solution there. We worked very closely together [with Barack Obama] on the issue of annexation of Crimea and Russia's attempt to actually conquer Ukraine and actually, they did so, conquer part of the territory. We tried to come to a peaceful settlement here on this.

  Angela Merkel

  Military, Russia, Ukraine

  Source: time.com

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• I think Putin wants to recreate as much of the Soviet Union as he can through a variety of different means. He's invaded parts of Georgia, took Crimea, southeastern Ukraine, bases in other countries.

  David Petraeus

  Country, Mean, Thinking

  Source: abcnews.go.com

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