Russian Foreign Minister Says Crimea May Still Be Ukrainian

According to RIA Novosti on December 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Crimea would have been part of Ukraine if the 2014 coup had not happened.

“If there had not been a coup in February 2014 and if the agreement reached the day before between then-President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition had been implemented, Ukraine would have remained united and Crimea would have been part of it. But they did not implement this agreement. Instead, they staged a coup,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson.

Mr. Lavrov added that Russia is genuinely interested in ending the conflict in Donbass that began after the coup, but for this to happen, it is necessary that the Minsk agreements are fully implemented.

“But the agreement was sabotaged by the government that was formed after the coup in Ukraine. It was agreed that this government should have a direct dialogue with those who did not accept the coup and promote the development of economic relations with this region of Ukraine. The Kiev authorities said that they would never talk directly with them,” the Russian foreign minister said.

Mr Lavrov said that many in Russia wanted the lifting of sanctions to be one of the conditions for a peace deal with Ukraine. However, Moscow’s view was that it was better to rely on itself and develop mechanisms of cooperation with “normal” countries that do not combine economic and political interests.

He noted that Russia has learned a lot since the imposition of sanctions, which began under former US President Barack Obama and became unprecedented under the administration of current US President Joe Biden.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the current situation should not be presented in such a way that it is assumed that Moscow and Washington are deciding the issue of negotiations on Ukraine "for everyone."

“Europeans whisper to each other that Volodymyr Zelensky should not dictate the terms of the negotiations, that this is the fate of the United States and Russia. I do not think that we should present our relations in this way - supposedly two people decide for everyone. In any case, this is not our style. We want to act like in BRICS and SCO. However, the United States is not used to respecting this principle,” Lavrov said in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson.