Aleksander Kwasniewski: Putin plans to invade all Ukraine

The Russian president dreams of incorporating Ukraine into the Eurasian Community, former president of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski said.

UNIAN's correspondent reports from Poland that he made the statement at a forum in Warsaw to discuss the European leadership in the new reality.

Former president of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski thinks leader of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin doesn't plan to stop after the annexation of Crimea or Eastern Ukraine. He wants to gain control over the entire state to make it a part of the Russia-led Eurasian Union.

“I am confident Putin's goal is not only to take Crimea and get influence in eastern Ukraine, his goal is to occupy the entire Ukraine and make it a part of the Eurasian Community. The step is supposed to put Putin on the list of the greatest leaders of his state, such as Peter I and Catherine II, and return the status of a superpower to Russia,” he said.

Kwasniewski said he didn't expect a long crisis in Ukraine and added the EU and NATO should be prepared to respond to possible developments.

“We need to be prepared that it's not the matter that can resolve on its own in some weeks after the Ukrainian presidential election on May 25. It will continue,” he said.

The former president expressed the hope that the events in Ukraine would lead to further integration of the EU members, in particular what concerns building the common energy and common security policies, and would step up cooperation with the US.

He called on western countries to strictly fulfill their declarations.

“There's an opinion in many countries, not only in Russia, that the western world is the words champion, but it is not so good when it comes to fulfilling the relative declarations. We must change it,” he said.

Kwasniewski noted Europe's future for the nearest decades would be determined by two principal issues: the financial crisis, which is about to end, according to him, and the so called “Ukrainian crisis”.