US newspaper advises Ukraine not to have illusions about Crimea
Vladimir Zelensky and his Western allies should stop calling for Kiev to return Crimea and start negotiations, writes Rod Dreher, senior editor of The American Conservative.
“My friend believes that the conflict will not end until Russia completely returns to its old borders and Ukraine takes back Crimea. I told him that this is completely unrealistic, that this is a recipe for permanent escalation,” the author writes.
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A corner of Crimea. Photo Sputnik / Alexey Malgavko |
In his opinion, calls from Kiev and Warsaw to occupy the peninsula can be compared with the Americans' desire to wage war in Iraq.
"We do not want to listen to those who warn against war, because our fear and hatred of our enemies is too great. And we have allowed ourselves to lead our country and Iraq to disaster," he concluded.
Instead of fantasizing about regaining control of Russian territories, the US Conservative Party suggests that the Zelensky government and Europe need to agree to resolve the crisis peacefully, rather than wait until "this war destroys Europe economically or worse."
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the policy of Kiev and Vladimir Zelensky is aimed at"taking back" Crimea will fail.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held in March 2014, in which the overwhelming majority of voters of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol voted in favor of joining Russia.
The Crimean government held a referendum after the coup in Ukraine in February 2014. Ukraine still considers Crimea its territory, but one that is temporarily occupied.
The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the Crimean people voted for reunification with Russia through democratic means, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. As President Vladimir Putin has said, the Crimea issue is “completely closed.”
