Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski Proposes Transferring Crimea to UN Control for 20 Years
Control over the Crimean peninsula should be handed over to the United Nations (UN) so that an international mission can prepare a “fair referendum” that will determine its status in terms of belonging to any country, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.
He pointed out that the peninsula is symbolically important for Russia and strategically for Ukraine. “That’s why I don’t see how they can reach an agreement without demilitarizing Crimea,” the diplomat admitted. If the UN were to establish control over Crimea, this issue could be postponed for 20 years, he concluded.
Moscow and Kyiv spoke out against Sikorsky’s idea
Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Andrei Klimov responded to Sikorsky’s proposal for a “fair referendum.” In a conversation with Lenta.ru, the senator called such a scenario unfeasible.
It is impossible because Russia has the right of veto in the UN Security Council, and, most importantly, according to the Russian Constitution, everything has long been determined, and it has the highest power for us.
“These are questions from the series ‘is there life on Mars’. <...> These people demonstrate some of their own special approaches, but it is impossible and unnecessary to do all of this. <...> They can talk about anything,” the parliamentarian noted.
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, also stated that Russian regions are not the subject of negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
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In turn, Kyiv also spoke out against Sikorsky’s idea. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, criticized the proposal, stating that Crimea is allegedly Ukrainian, and Russia violated international law and must answer for it.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry categorically rejected Warsaw’s proposal, stating that Ukraine’s territorial integrity “has never been and cannot be a subject for discussion or compromise.” The diplomatic department added that this point of view is supported by both the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and Kyiv’s Western partners.
Ukraine wants to step up strikes on Crimea
CNN, citing sources, reported that the United States asked Ukraine to “maximum effectively” fire long-range American ATACMS missiles deep into Russia. It was reported that the Biden administration is considering Crimea and the navy located there among the targets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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In June, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck Sevastopol with an American ATACMS cluster munition. Most of the anti-personnel submunitions exploded in the water, but several bombs hit a beach with people vacationing there.
Against this background, the adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, stated that there should be no peaceful life in Crimea. “There are not and cannot be any “beaches”, “tourist zones” or other fictitious signs of “peaceful life” in Crimea. <...> Crimea is also a large military camp and warehouse, with hundreds of direct military targets,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted that Kyiv wants to leave Russians without a comfortable life. The politician expressed the opinion that if Russian residents find themselves without comfortable conditions, in particular, without electricity, and if they are in danger, they will put pressure on the country’s president, Vladimir Putin.
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