Crimea is against Sea Breeze

07.04.2010 Crimean parliament intends to address the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich with request to disallow conducting Sea Breeze 2010 exercise in the autonomy, reports Info-Krym referring to the session of Crimean parliament.

The matter to accept such address to Viktor Yanukovich was brought in agenda of April plenary sessions of Crimean parliament.

Crimean MPs plan to send similar address to colleagues from Supreme Rada [Parliament of Ukraine]. The document which was initiated by MP Valery Ivanov says about "inadmissibility of conducting military exercise Sea Breeze 2010 in the territory of Crimea".

As is known, Sea Breeze exercise repeatedly provoked protest actions in Crimea and Odessa region.

Leonid Kozhara, member of Party of Regions had previously stated that the party would vote for conducting Sea Breeze exercise jointly with NATO having specified that "Party of Regions will not give up its positions that today is not a time to speak of Ukraine's integration with NATO. But traditionally we have always participated in such exercises and grant our ranges. This only means that we cooperate with NATO but have no intentions to join it. Therefore, we will obviously vote for such kind of exercises in the current year".

Then Mr. Kozhara reminded that Russia also regularly takes part in such joint exercises so this must not arouse any contradictions with Russia".

We recall that in 2009 International exercise Sea Breeze 2009 was not held.

On May 22, 2009 Supreme Rada refused to consider presidential draft law allowing foreign armed forces to stay in the territory of Ukraine for participation in multinational military exercise. Only 133 out of 423 registered MPs voted for this decision; to adopt this document, 226 votes were necessary.