Gysi: NATO has opened Pandora's box in Kosovo

BERLIN - Gregor Gysi, leader of the socialist left-wing political party The Left, said in the Bundestag on Thursday that NATO and the EU are partially responsible for the current situation in Ukraine because of the policy they pursued in previous years.

Gysi said that Crimea's secession from Ukraine is in contravention of international law. At the same time, he criticized NATO for violating international law in the case of Serbia, and thus opening a Pandora's box.

He noted that at the time NATO did not have a UN mandate for intervention in 1999, the German media reported.

Crimea's secession from Ukraine is equally contrary to international law, as was Kosovo's secession from Serbia. But, if that is allowed to Kosovo, then it is allowed everywhere, he said.

A violation of international law is a violation of international law, Gysi said, adding that the principles of international law must be equal for all.

Presenting the policy of the German government on Ukraine, Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier on Thursday that the territorial integrity of Ukraine cannot be called into question, making it clear that Crimea could not be compared to Kosovo.