Sergey Markedonov: Crimea is unlikely to follow South Ossetia and Abkhazia

The Russian authorities' struggle for Crimea will be more rational than the one for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the force will not be used. This was stated by Sergey Markedonov, Associate Professor of the Department for Foreign Area Studies and Foreign Policy of the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU). According to the expert, the Crimea is unlikely to go the way of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Let us remind you that on March 16, Crimea is to hold a referendum to determine whether the republic will remain a part of Ukraine or it will become a part of Russia. However, according to Sergey Markedonov, after the referendum, Russia is not certainly annex Crimea.

The expert has suggested that Crimea may exist as an unrecognized state under the patronage of Russia. At the same time, he has emphasized that the current situation concerning the events in Crimea is not similar to the earlier situation with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In the Crimea society, the consensus on accession to Russia is less stable.

In general, according to Sergey Markedonov, concerning Crimea, there is a hope that the politicians will not go for a large-scale military conflict, similar to that of the 2008 war in South Ossetia.