Czech PM calls for calm and consistent response from EU to Crimea referendum

The Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, has called for a uniform, calm and consistent response from the European Union to the result of the referendum in Crimea. Speaking in Monday’s edition of the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Mr. Sobotka said Europe should above all not react hysterically to the result of the referendum, in which more than 95% of Crimean voters were reported to have backed joining Russia. The Czech leader emphasised that his country and its European partners regarded the vote as unlawful and in contravention of Ukraine’s constitution; he said the only solution could be if Russia and Ukraine sat down at the negotiating table.