BOLTON Stop the War/ CND considers that all the parties to the Ukrainian crisis are in the wrong.

There’s Russia for its illegal determination to regain the Crimea, which it gave to Ukraine in 1954.

Also, the present Ukrainian government for its unconstitutional seizure of power after an agreement had been signed whereby President Yanukovych would stand down by the end of the year and there would be no fresh elections.

Then there’s Yanukovych for his personal corruption and the barbarous shooting of protesters and the US Nato and the EU for continuing Cold War policies towards Russia long after the Cold War was over.

This led to the incorporation of the hitherto Warsaw Pact states into Nato and the attempt to pull the Ukraine into the Western sphere of influence, although the West knew that a large portion of the population still wanted to look to Russia.

Fortunately none of the parties is contemplating military action, although people are rightly worried that, just as the First World War started as the result of a single assassination, the situation could suddenly change for the worst.

It is important not to exacerbate the situation. Threats of sanctions will only make matters worse and certainly have no chance of dislodging Russia from the Crimea.

By all means let talking and negotiating go on, but we must accept the fact that Russian repossession of the Crimea is a fait accompli.

The only chance of loosening Russia's grip on the Crimea is for the West to abandon Cold War style confrontation and, as an ernest of goodwill, to commit Nato to a no first use of nuclear weapons and to dismantle the Star Wars installations, which presuppose that Russia is an enemy. This crisis can paradoxically provide an opportunity for the West to reorientate its relations with Russia. Meanwhile, we call on Russia to pledge itself to refrain from further military action against Ukrainian territory and for the current Ukrainian government to commit itself to upholding the full democratic and human rights of all its citizens, whatever their ethnic origin or first language Malcolm Pittock On behalf of Bolton Stop the War/CND St James Avenue Bolton