The Ukrainian authorities are going to "oust" Russia from Crimea, said the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Kuleba on the air of the program "The Right to Power" on the "1 + 1" TV channel.

For this, according to the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Kiev should solve two problems.

The first is to "return Crimea to the top list of issues on the international agenda."

At the present time, according to Kuleba, this task is being successfully solved, since they "began to speak about Crimea at the highest level," and it again became "the number one topic."

The second task comes down to the systematization of all efforts - from political statements to sanctions decisions, and the creation of a mechanism that will remove the problems in the systemic pressure on Moscow.

“Because only by consistent systemic pressure we will oust Russia from Crimea,” Kuleba said.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister called it a mistake that in 2014 an international negotiating format was created on the Donbass issue, but a similar format was not created on the Crimean issue.

To correct this "mistake", the Ukrainian authorities are creating the "Crimean Platform", which is conceived as an international negotiation format, where the Ukrainian side with partners intends to coordinate efforts to "de-occupy" Crimea.

At the same time, according to Kuleba, Russia is allegedly trying to undermine the credibility of the Crimean Platform project and prevent the participation of representatives of other countries in it.

He claims that in Moscow "emotions are growing" and "a machine has already been deployed to counteract" the Crimean Platform, and the purpose of this "machine" is to discredit the Ukrainian project, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

The first summit of the "Crimean Platform" is scheduled for August 23, on the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day.

Kiev has already offered to participate in the initiative to a number of countries, including the United States, Turkey, France, Great Britain, Canada, Germany and Japan.

  • Dmitry Kuleba

  • Reuters

  • © Fabrizio Bensch

According to Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAS, Dmitry Kuleba's statements are primarily aimed at propaganda.

“In fact, the question of the“ return ”of Crimea is only of interest to the United States, other countries are not interested in this topic.

In 2014, Washington had its own plans for Crimea, so the American side is ready to support Kiev's speeches.

As for the "pressure mechanism" on Moscow, these words should be viewed as a repetition of American rhetoric, "the expert noted in a commentary on RT.

Political scientist Alexander Dudchak adheres to a similar point of view.

Commenting on the words of Kuleba that the Crimean topic allegedly returned to the top of the international agenda, the expert noted that little depends on Kiev in this matter.

“Whether the West will develop the topic of Crimea or not depends not on the efforts of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, but on the plans of the West itself - whether it is profitable for it to use this issue to put pressure on Russia.

Ukraine has no subjectivity in this matter, it itself is only a part of this mechanism.

And Washington can use this topic, for example, to harm ties between Russia and Europe, "the expert explained in a commentary on RT.

"Three whales"

Recall that the Ukrainian side did not recognize the results of the 2014 Crimean referendum, following which the peninsula became part of the Russian Federation.

In 2015, Pavel Klimkin, who was then the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, expressed the idea of ​​creating an international format on the issue of Crimea's “return” to Ukraine.

The idea involved countries and organizations ready to support Kiev's claims to the Russian peninsula into this format.

However, then this plan was not implemented.

The idea began to take on a real shape after the election of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Dmitry Kuleba announced the plans of the country's authorities to create a "Crimean Platform" in June 2020, speaking at a briefing in Berlin.

  • Voting in a referendum on the status of Crimea at a polling station in the village of Shirokoe

  • RIA News

  • © Valery Melnikov

As the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova later explained, the platform will operate at the level of the leaders of the countries, as well as the ministers of foreign affairs and defense of the countries participating in the summit.

“Under this level (the heads of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense.

- RT

), we will pull up various activities within NATO, the EU, the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe.

It will be an ecosystem of events throughout the year, and it should be systemic things, ”Dzhaparova said in September 2020. 

At the end of February 2021, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on measures "aimed at de-occupation and reintegration of the Crimean peninsula."

“In particular, the government has been entrusted with organizing and launching the Crimean Platform, as well as measures to develop and support the Crimean Tatar language, culture and protection of the rights of residents of the annexed Crimea,” Zelensky said.

According to the Ukrainian leader, Kiev "unites the world" on the basis of a new format in order to "return Ukrainian things to Ukraine."

Zelensky wrote about this in mid-March on his Twitter.

For the same time, Russia ruled a fake referendum at the Crimea.

#Ukraine for the first time, for the illegal annexation, prepared the strategy of de-purchase and reintegration of pvostrov.

We are united by light on the basis of the Krimskoy platforms, and turn to Ukrainian Ukrainian.

# CrimeaIsUkrainepic.twitter.com / SUfjjpifFL

- Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2021

At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities believe that foreign partners are obliged to support the efforts and claims of Kiev.

This, in particular, was stated by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andriy Melnik.

In his article for the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, he wrote about Germany's "moral duty" to the Ukrainian side due to the events of World War II.

According to him, Germany "bears before Ukraine an indefinite historical responsibility for Nazi tyranny."

For this reason, Berlin is supposedly supposed to "put an end to the illegal occupation of Crimea."

Earlier, in early March, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine approved the strategy of “de-occupation and reintegration of Crimea”.

The country's Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba then called this document "historical" and spoke about the "three whales" of the Ukrainian policy to "return" the peninsula.

One of these elements is the adoption of a strategy, the second is the consolidation of Ukraine's partners on the basis of the "Crimean Platform", the third "whale" Kuleba called synergy in the form of "restoration of international law" and, as a result, "full sovereignty" of Ukraine over Crimea.

According to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, the work on the strategy lasted more than a year.

According to him, the document contains a "clear indication" of how Kiev should move in matters of "de-occupation" of Crimea.

Kiev paradox

On March 16, during a press conference with Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, Dmitry Kuleba said that the Ukrainian government would approve a detailed action plan to implement the previously developed strategy.

Among these measures, the minister named the launch of the Crimean Platform format. 

According to Alexander Dudchak, this format is intended to become an element of pressure on Russia.

“And although this will not help Ukraine return the peninsula under its control, by participating in such initiatives, the Ukrainian authorities demonstrate to the patriotic public that they are doing something, fussing in the right direction,” the expert noted.

At the same time, it is characteristic that the Ukrainian leadership does not even try to appeal directly to the population of Crimea, experts emphasize.

On the contrary, the Crimeans became objects of pressure from Kiev.

One example is the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to limit the supply of fresh water to the peninsula. 

“One of the traditional paradoxes of Ukrainian political thinking is that, on the one hand, the Kiev authorities declare that the Crimeans are Ukrainians, and they are doing everything possible to return them to their state, but at the same time they try to create problems for ordinary residents of the peninsula, ”stated Alexander Dudchak.

According to Volodymyr Olenchenko, this approach of Kiev is explained by the fact that the Ukrainian elite is guided not by national interests, but by recommendations received from Western partners.

At the same time, the "Crimean Platform" format is unlikely to justify the hopes that Kiev places on it, the expert said.

“Leaders of many countries are expected to attend the platform summit.

However, Kiev can hardly count on the visit of the leaders of large states.

Most likely, the heads of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will willingly come to the summit.

But the leaders of countries such as France, Germany or the UK will not attend the event.

This whole undertaking will not bring Kiev the result it expects, ”the expert summed up.