Oleksandr Turchynov: The proposal to hold a referendum in the occupied territories is another provocation of the Russian Federation

The proposal to hold a referendum in the occupied territories is another provocation of the Russian Federation. This was stated by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov in a comment to journalists.

"Russia's proposals for a referendum in the occupied territory are a provocation and a nonsense", - he said.

According to Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine, any political measures cannot be carried out until complete liberation of the occupied territories and their return to the constitutional field of Ukraine. "To conduct a referendum in the occupied territories of the Crimea and Donbas is like to read a lecture to Colorado potato beetles on the need to preserve the crop", - he noticed.

In addition, answering the question on the security situation in the east of Ukraine, Mr. Turchynov said that the concentration of troops in the east and south of Ukraine testifies to "that Russia does not remove from its agenda the military form of pressure on our state, and we should be constantly prepared to counter any military provocations".

According to him, one of the forms of influence on Ukraine is an attempt to destabilize the internal situation in the country. "In addition, Russia will try to influence the results of presidential and parliamentary elections, but military aggression cannot be excluded if they see that other forms do not produce results".