Politicians and officials in Ukraine are well aware of the futility of any effort to bring the so-called “return” of Crimea, said Anton Morozov, member of the State Duma’s international affairs committee. So he reacted to the statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister on the development by Kiev of plans for the return of the peninsula.
“The people of Crimea just because they made their choice in favor of Russia, because Kiev, in fact, mocked the peninsula and in every possible way infringed Crimeans on their rights. Crimea did not receive sufficient social and economic development, ”Morozov recalled.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said on May 5 that Kiev was developing its own concept and vision of Crimea, and in this regard, it should solve a number of issues.
“Tactical tasks. The first is how we keep occupied Crimea on a strategic agenda so that this issue is not forgotten. The second is how we ensure the effectiveness of the sanctions regime against Crimea. Third, what additional international instruments can we use to put pressure on Russia. And a few others. And the strategic task is how Crimea will be returned to Ukraine, ”Kuleba told the radio station“ NV ”, calling it a“ pragmatic calculation ”and not a“ diplomatic fantasy ”.
As Morozov emphasized, "by such statements, which, unfortunately, are again directed against the inhabitants of the peninsula, Kiev only confirms its unconstructive approach." The pressure on Moscow is completely hopeless because Russia is a large, self-sufficient country, he added.
“This tactic does not cause sympathy either in the Crimea or in the international community,” the deputy stated.
The head of the international committee of the Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev, believes that the statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister can be regarded either as confirmation of a total misunderstanding by the Ukrainian authorities of what happened to the Crimea, or as a pretense of not having a better position on this issue.
“All three tasks that are listed by Mr. Kuleba are administrative-power. Fortunately, not military power, but administrative power. All of these are measures to force the status of Crimea to change, ”said Kosachev.
In turn, State Duma deputy from the Crimea Ruslan Balbek called Kuleba's statements completely false, and also pointed out their untimelyness.
“Today the world is busy with how to survive and preserve the economy and resources, and give Kiev to, you see, Crimea. I think that this statement is a certain message, they say, do not forget about us, we are still raving about the return of the peninsula, ”Balbek emphasized.
Recall that Crimea became the Russian region after a referendum held in March 2014, in which the majority of the inhabitants of the peninsula voted to reunite with Russia.
“The status of Crimea did not change because Russia so wanted,” Konstantin Kosachev recalled. “And because the inhabitants of the peninsula so wanted to, who rejected Ukrainian politics towards the region.”
Kosachev emphasized that the status of the peninsula cannot be reviewed under any circumstances.
This was previously stated by the Russian leadership. President Vladimir Putin previously stated that the issue with the Crimea is closed and he will remain part of the Russian Federation. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, emphasized in an interview with the Italian newspaper Libero that this was a free, democratic expression of the will of the peninsula, who made an informed choice in favor of peace and prosperity.
Nevertheless, recently, Ukrainian politicians began to actively exaggerate the topic of Crimea. So in April, during an online discussion at the Atlantic Council analytical center, Dmitry Kuleba assured that allegedly “President Putin has no other choice but to leave Ukraine - from eastern Ukraine and Crimea as well.”
In addition, in early May, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Andrey Melnik, in absentia invited the former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to bet that even during his lifetime, the Crimea would allegedly “definitely return” to Ukraine. So he reacted to Schroeder’s statement in an interview with Tagesspiegel that "not a single Russian president will ever give Crimea to Ukraine."
According to Konstantin Kosachev, Ukraine has recently begun to raise the topic of Crimea again due to the fact that awareness of the irreversibility of the situation on the peninsula is becoming more and more widespread.
“This topic is leaving the international agenda. And, of course, Ukrainians will be the last to agree. They will try to keep this topic afloat by hook or by crook. Their behavior is quite predictable, but from this it does not cease to be deadlock, ”the senator summed up.