Can Russia 'compensate' Ukraine with money and oil?

Czech President Milos Zeman has faced opposition from many sides when he proposed the idea of ​​mediating the Russia-Ukraine crisis with money and oil.

Czech President Milos Zeman. Photo: Internet

“In my opinion, there will be some compensation for Ukraine (for the loss of Crimea) in… money and oil,” RT quoted Mr. Zeman as saying to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in an English-language presentation in Strasbourg, France.

According to him, the intention to return Crimea to Ukraine would lead to a war in Europe that “we must avoid”.

Instead, he called on Russia and Ukraine to develop closer economic and diplomatic ties, pointing to non-controversial initiatives such as student exchanges as opening up new beginnings.

Reacting to Mr Zeman's speech, the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, headed by Aleksey Goncharenko, left the hall, and told reporters outside: “Zeman could also offer to sell Karlovy Vary (the Czech resort) to the Russians.”

Meanwhile, a senior Russian official asserted that Crimea is not the subject of trade or transaction.

“We welcome the Czech president’s recognition of the current situation in Crimea as a done deal. But the idea of ​​compensation for Ukraine is not convincing enough,” Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee in the Russian State Duma, said in Moscow.

Elsewhere in his speech, President Zeman repeated his familiar call for sanctions against Moscow to be lifted.

“I am not discussing the reasons for the sanctions, I am discussing the effectiveness of the sanctions. Just today (at the time of the meeting), the German newspaper Welt published an article saying that the European Union is losing money due to the sanctions, and that there is no damage to Russia; saying that this is a losing strategy,” Mr. Zeman said.

According to him, instead of weakening Russia, the economic and travel restrictions imposed by the EU, the US and Western countries on Crimea and eastern Ukraine since 2014 have only strengthened the Kremlin.

“If you want to increase the popularity of a leader – now I'm not just talking about Mr Putin – impose sanctions and blockades,” the Czech leader said.

Crimea joined Russia after a referendum in March 2014, in which 97% of voters supported it.

The results have yet to be recognized by Kiev and the West, while Moscow insists the vote was conducted in accordance with international law.

According to RT/TPO