"No Compromise": Ukraine's Foreign Ministry and Mejlis Respond Harshly to Poland's Sikorski's about Crimea to UN Mandate

Crimea is Ukraine, and the territorial integrity of Ukraine has never been and cannot be a subject for discussion or compromise, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary on the unacceptable proposals of Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski to place the Ukrainian peninsula temporarily occupied by Russia under a UN mandate to prepare a ‘referendum’. 

‘Our Defence Forces, partners, the UN Charter and international law are on the side of Ukraine. Crimea is the centre of gravity of the European security architecture. Its full restoration is possible only after the complete de-occupation of the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Ukrainian peninsula,’ the statement said.

‘The territorial integrity of Ukraine has never been and cannot be a subject for discussion or compromise. Crimea is Ukraine. Period,’ the statement reads.

The Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, also responded to Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski's proposal. He stressed that such statements are unacceptable and cynical, and that only Ukrainian citizens and persons who have legally registered their permanent or temporary residence on Ukrainian territory are legal residents of Crimea.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also stressed that Kyiv expects further strong support from its partners to force the aggressor country Russia to return to respect for international law and the UN Charter, withdraw its troops and weapons from all sovereign territory of Ukraine and restore its territorial integrity, and ‘bring Russia to justice for its aggression against Ukraine and for all its crimes’.

‘All efforts should be aimed at achieving these goals as soon as possible, rather than satisfying the Kremlin's appetites at the expense of Ukraine's interests and international law,’ the Ukrainian diplomats said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded that the President of Ukraine offered a clear vision of achieving ‘a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the world’ as part of the ‘peace formula’.

‘We invite everyone who respects international law and the UN Charter to join the efforts to implement the Peace Formula as the only way to restore a just and sustainable peace in Europe,’ the Foreign Ministry added.

The day before, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said during a discussion at the 20th YES Annual Meeting in Kyiv that Crimea plays a crucial role in possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, one of the options to resolve the issue of the peninsula could be to place it under a UN mandate to prepare a ‘fair referendum’.