Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Sikorsky’s remarks on Crimea
The department stressed that Ukraine’s territorial integrity has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion or compromise. Crimea is Ukraine. Period.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has ruled out any compromise on the issue of Crimean ownership. The ministry responded to the proposal of Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to transfer Crimea to the UN mandate in order to hold a “fair referendum” there in 20 years. The press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry published the corresponding statement on Thursday, September 19.
“Ukraine’s territorial integrity has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion or compromise. Crimea is Ukraine, period. On Ukraine’s side are our Defence Forces, our partners, the UN Charter and international law,” the department said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Crimea is the centre of gravity of the European security architecture. Its full restoration will be possible only after the complete deoccupation of the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Ukrainian peninsula.
“We expect further firm support from our partners to force Russia to return to respecting international law and the UN Charter, withdraw its troops and weapons from the entire sovereign territory of Ukraine and restore its territorial integrity, and also hold Russia accountable for its aggression against Ukraine and for all crimes committed,” the ministry added.
They also stressed that “all efforts should be directed at quickly achieving these goals and not at satisfying the Kremlin’s appetites in one way or another at the expense of Ukraine’s interests and international law.”
Radoslaw Sikorski previously stated that Crimea plays a decisive role in the issue of possible peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, one of the options for resolving the issue of the peninsula could be to transfer it under a UN mandate and hold a referendum there in 20 years.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the participants of the Crimean Platform summit in kyiv in a video message. He said that Crimea should return to Ukraine in accordance with international law. The Kremlin then said that it would continue to develop “partnership relations” with Turkey, despite the words of its leader.
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