Russia’s annexation of Crimea on March 16, 2014 holds many implications not only to the region but beyond.

A forum, themed ‘The Crisis in Ukraine: What it Means to the World’ will be held on April 5, Saturday at the Institut Integriti Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur to highlight the various issues in Ukraine and its effect to the sovereign right of a country and its people to self-identity.

The forum, organised by the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), will also explore how the crisis will shift the dynamics of current world order.

“The Ukrainian crisis is very important to global politics because it is a reflection of the tussle for power between the United States and Russia,” according to JUST president Dr. Chandra Muzaffar.

He added that while the crisis happened in the European region, it may have a larger lasting effect to Asia too.

“It is important for us to look into the US policy – its pivot to Asia in recent years. Basically it’s an attempt directed at China. There are parallels (that we can draw from the Ukraine crisis) and people should be aware of the dangers arising from this because it has direct relevance to us,” he told Astro AWANI.

The forum will feature panellists Dr Chandra, the H.E. Lyudmila G. Vorobyeva (the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Malaysia) and Bunn Nagara (Senior Fellow, Institute of Strategic and International Studies).

The forum will be held from 10am to 1pm and is open to the public.