The chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Bloc of Petro Poroshenko MP Refat Chubarov, believes that it was possible to avoid annexation of Crimea only on February 27-28, 2014, but the authorities that came after Maidan lacked confidence that its orders would be fulfilled and that Crimean military and security forces would not go over to the side of the Russian Federation.

"If there was a possibility in Crimea to avoid further development of the events, then the authorities had the time on February 27, that is, from the seizure of the buildings of the Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers of Crimea and, possibly, on February 28, when Russia started large-scale deliveries of military vehicles and military," Chubarov said during his interrogation on the Yanukovych treason case in the Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv on Thursday.

Chubarov noted that the answer to the question of why all possible measures were not taken could be found in the number of Ukrainian military, SBU and police officers in Crimea who switched to the Russian side.

"I think that the authorities were not decisive enough, but they did not have enough confidence that its orders would be fulfilled, not because they [the new Ukrainian authorities] would not be recognized, but because it is Russia," he said.

Chubarov believes that if they use the word "surrender" in relation to Crimea, then "it was surrendered by all those who had the obligation to prevent such a situation."

"[It was surrendered] by the international system and the construction of the international system, that is, all the countries that are part of any international organizations that should deal with it, starting with the UN, and ending with Ukraine, if we use the term 'surrender,'" he said.

"But if we talk about the opportunities and commitments of the participants involved in this, then we need to approach differently to Ukraine as a state and to international organizations. The people in Crimea have the impression that they surrendered," Chubarov said.