Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he intends to discuss the creation of a negotiating platform on the Crimea issue at the Ukraine-EU summit, which will be held on October 1 in Brussels.

He mentioned this in a message to the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who is on a visit to Ukraine.

“Thanks to Josep Borrell for the unwavering support of the European Union for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

I will be glad to discuss the creation of a negotiating platform for the de-occupation of Crimea at the 22nd Ukraine-EU summit, ”Zelensky wrote on Twitter, duplicating the message in English.

The press service of the President of Ukraine also reported that Borrell and Zelensky discussed issues of a peaceful settlement in Donbass.

“The EU High Representative was informed about the security situation in Donbass and the implementation of the agreements reached during the Paris summit in the Normandy format,” the release says.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy "stressed the critical importance of keeping the theme of the de-occupation of Crimea in the focus of attention of the UN and the EU."

“For us, the key issue is to create a permanent platform on which humanitarian issues, human rights issues, the issue of Ukrainians on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, in general, the issue of returning our occupied territory are raised,” Zelensky said.

Borrell responded by saying that the European Union supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and will never recognize the Crimea as part of Russia.

At the same time, he did not comment on Zelensky's plans to create a certain negotiating platform.

Recall that Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014, in which most of the inhabitants of the peninsula spoke in favor of reunification with Russia.

Advisory platform

In July, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal, following a visit to Brussels, said that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had developed a concept for an international format for discussing the issue of Crimea's ownership.

He also announced this following a meeting with the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.

Shmygal said that at the first stage, this platform will operate in a consultative and coordinating format, but in the future it may move into the format of a platform for negotiations.

  • Denis Shmygal and Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels

  • Reuters

  • © Francisco Seco

“The platform should deal with the entire spectrum of the consequences of the occupation: from the humanitarian one to the security dimension.

The militarization of Crimea affects the security of southeastern Europe, in particular the region of the Black, Azov and Mediterranean Seas.

In addition, there is a need to improve coordination and increase the effectiveness of the sanctions policy, as well as the international policy of non-recognition of the attempt to annex Crimea as a whole, ”the Ukrainian Prime Minister Interfax-Ukraine quotes.

Denis Shmygal named two representatives of the Normandy Four - Germany and France, as well as Great Britain and the USA - as key participants in the format.

In addition, some regional partners were mentioned who are interested in solving the Crimean issue.

“We hope for the support of this initiative from the EU, NATO and member states, as well as other partners who have demonstrated their support by introducing the Crimean sanctions packages,” Shmygal added.

Zelensky's national idea

Since his election as president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly made statements regarding the ownership of Crimea and its reunification with Russia.

So, in August 2019, at a meeting with representatives of veteran and volunteer organizations in Kiev, he expressed confidence that the peninsula would "return" to Ukraine.

At the same time, Zelensky added that Kiev takes a "tough stance" on this issue.

“Naturally, we have a tough stance on the return of Crimea, of course, we want this,” Zelensky said, adding that Kiev has enlisted the support of “international friends”.

In February 2020, Zelenskiy, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, said that he would like to hold local elections throughout Ukraine in October, mentioning Crimea.

At the same time, he said that the return of Crimea is a "national idea" of Ukraine.

“I would like to start with simple, obvious things ... A week consists of seven days.

The planet Earth is round, and Crimea is Ukraine ... The return of Crimea is an integral part of the Ukrainian national idea, ”Zelensky said.

In June, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution on appeal to the UN, the European Parliament, the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe, NATO, OSCE, as well as other organizations and blocs, calling on to increase sanctions pressure on Russia and continue the policy of non-recognition of the status of Crimea.

In the document, Ukrainian parliamentarians asked to apply additional measures in the framework of the policy of “non-recognition of the attempt to annex Crimea”.

In particular, the deputies proposed introducing international monitoring of sanctions, increasing pressure on Russia and raising the issue of the ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol and the adjacent waters of the Azov and Black Seas during all negotiations with Russia at the highest level.

Zelensky is doing everything possible to keep the topic of Crimea at the top of the news and stir up public opinion in Ukraine, Andrei Suzdaltsev, deputy dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics, explained in a conversation with RT.

“With such initiatives, he is trying to put pressure on Russia.

However, this PR action is meaningless, because Crimea is an integral part of the Russian Federation, and accordingly, Ukraine has nothing to count on.

The EU will not even try to create such a negotiating platform, because it understands that Russia will not participate there, ”the political scientist noted.

"The European Union got tired of the Ukrainian issue"

Recall that Crimea was transferred to Ukraine in 1954 on the initiative of Nikita Khrushchev and remained in its composition after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In 2014, after a coup d'etat in Ukraine, Crimean residents expressed a desire to reunite with Russia.

In March 2014, a referendum was held on the peninsula, during which more than 90% of its residents voted for the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation.

The countries of Western Europe and the United States refused to recognize the reunification of the peninsula with Russia, called it an annexation and imposed sanctions on Moscow.

  • President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky

  • Reuters

  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

Since then, the Ukrainian authorities have been calling Crimea the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory and are making statements about "de-occupation".

In response, Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that the transition of Crimea to the Russian Federation was carried out in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter, and top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, stated that the issue of Crimea's territorial affiliation was "finally closed."

As the head of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ishchenko explained in a commentary to RT, Zelensky can discuss any problems with the EU countries, however, any "negotiating platforms" on Crimea can arise only if Russia wants to discuss this issue with Ukraine, and Moscow is not going to do this.

“This initiative is aimed at domestic consumption.

Zelensky is in a disastrous situation inside the country, so he is trying to demonstrate foreign policy activity.

The ruling party is preparing to lose the regional elections, after which its opponents will try to organize early elections to the Verkhovna Rada in order to limit the possibilities of the president, ”the political scientist explained.

Experts noted that the EU representative did not respond to Zelensky's initiative, because the Crimean issue has long been resolved, and Brussels understands this.

“The West understands that if Russia has declared that Crimea is Russian territory, then the issue is closed.

But the European Union got tired of the Ukrainian issue, ”concluded Rostislav Ishchenko.