KIEV, Feb. 26 - Three former Ukrainian presidents, Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, and Viktor Yushchenko, have issued a joint statement accusing Russia of direct interference in Crimea's political affairs.

"Russia, which has repeatedly described attempts by our international partners to settle the situation in a political way as interference in Ukraine's internal affairs, has currently resorted to direct interference in Crimea's political affairs," says a joint statement by the three former Ukrainian presidents Interfax obtained from Yushchenko's press secretary Iryna Vannykova.