Kiev Nazi authorities are only obstacle to peace in Ukraine – ex-presidential candidate

The removal of Kiev’s coup-imposed authorities from power is the only way to restore peace and stability in Ukraine, opposition leader and ex-presidential candidate Oleg Tsarev told RT.

Tsarev has blamed Igor Kolomoisky, the Kiev-appointed Dnepropetrovsk region governor and oligarch, for making “quite a large” contribution to the current violence in Ukraine.

He said it is Kolomoisky who is responsible for recruiting nationalists into the National Guard and special police units, which are now waging war in the country's southeast.

Tsarev, who spoke to RT during his visit to Moscow, said he has information that “the National Guard fighters, who were dressed in civilian clothes, participated in the events in Odessa” – where at least 48 anti-Kiev protestors died on May 2 after radicals set fire to the Trade Unions House.

The MP also confirmed the authenticity of the leaked phone call from May 9, in which Kolomoisky said that he offered US$1 million for Tsarev’s head.

“As I understand he didn’t want me to come to Lugansk and Donetsk to take part in organizing the referendum,” he said.

Referendums in Lugansk and Donetsk regions took place on May 11, two days after the phone call leak, with over 90 percent of voters supporting independence from Kiev.

Tsarev, who was a self-nominee for the presidential election, withdrew his candidacy from the race, as he believes “the vote can’t be held when the army is on a reprisal raid against its own people...and dozens die every day.”

With no candidate boasting support in both east and west Ukraine, any president elected on May 25 will be “a half-president,” he stressed.

“I called upon the current Ukrainian authorities to solve the country’s problems first; carry out a constitutional reform, disarm the militants, release over 400 of our activists from prison on amnesty, and organize an election after that,” the MP said.

But the coup-imposed authorities in Kiev are pushing to hold the election “at any cost,” because they realize that “their rating is falling” and now is their only chance to succeed, he explained.

Tsarev assured that Donetsk and Lugansk regions won’t be taking part in the Ukrainian election, adding that he has urged his supporters around the country to follow their example.

The ex-presidential candidate has called Ukraine’s acting prime minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, “a great imitator” for faking dialogue between the east and the west of the country.

“They gather their own representatives, who live in the southeast, and hold roundtables with them,” Tsarev said, adding that he and other actual leaders of protesters from the east aren't invited to take part in the discussions.

“They’re basically talking to themselves...There’s no real dialogue,” he added.

The opposition leader reminded that there are howitzers ready to shell the protester stronghold city of Slavyansk in the Donetsk region, with Kiev’s forces neglecting to provide a humanitarian corridor for the civilians to evacuate in case of attack.

It’s “not realistic” to talk to the “murderers” under such conditions, because dialogue between Kiev and protestors in the southeast is only possible after the ceasefire is agreed, he explained.

However, Tsarev stressed that the only obstacle to peace and stability in Ukraine are the “current Nazi authorities of Ukraine,” which must be removed from power.

He added that during his stay in Moscow, he has seen that the Russian people have “largely accepted” the independence of Donetsk and Lugansk regions from Ukraine.

Tsarev said the issue is not as simple when it comes to the position of Russian authorities, because they are responsible for Russia's fate – for economic sanctions which may be introduced against Russia.

But the opposition leader stressed that protestors in eastern Ukraine aren’t looking for independence from their compatriots in the country's west.

“They just don’t want to be in the same country with the current authority,” he said.

The Kiev regime chose to send the army against citizens in the southeast because its rule is “based on fear,” he added.

“But it’s impossible to defeat the people by military means,” Tsarev stressed. “The army doesn’t want to fight against the people. In order to make the military obey orders, they deployed Nazis there, who shoot at self-defense forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic, and then fire at the soldiers, who refuse to fight.”

“The number of casualties in the ranks of the Ukrainian military has reached 1,000 people. And sooner or later...I think sooner rather than later, the Kiev authorities will be held responsible for the war crimes against their own people,” he added.

Oleg Tsarev was previously a main figure in the Party of Regions – the party of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted by a nationalist-powered coup back in February.

A few weeks later, in April, he was registered as a presidential candidate. Several days later, he was brutally beaten by radicals from the Right Sector movement.

Tsarev is backing the idea of creating an independent Federal Republic of Novorossia, following the lead of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which revolted against the new Kiev authorities.