The government of the Crimean Tatars in Ukraine (mejlis) expressed dissatisfaction with a statement by the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, that in order to put an end to Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Crimean peninsula occupied by Russia must be placed under a UN mandate, the Polish news agency PAP reported, quoted by BTA.
"The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Szykorski, publicly expressed the opinion that in order to end the Russian war against Ukraine, our country must give up Crimea,", Refat Chubarov said yesterday – chairman of the government of the Crimean Tatars in Ukraine.
According to Chubarov, the Mejlis considers such public insinuations unacceptable and cynical and added that they are not in line with the national interests of Ukraine, nor with the rights and interests of the local Crimean Tatars in Ukraine.
Shikorsky mentioned Crimea at a conference of the "Yalta European Strategy" forum. in Kyiv on September 13 and 14, indicating that the issue of the peninsula will be decisive for the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
The Pole explained that the Crimean peninsula is of symbolic importance for Russia, but it is also strategically important for Ukraine, and added that he could not imagine achieving peace without the demilitarization of Crimea.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, quoted by the news agency "Interfax-Ukraine", proposed placing the peninsula under a UN mandate aimed at preparing a fair referendum after verifying who the legal residents are.
In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula through military intervention and then produced a referendum that Ukraine and the West called illegal. Crimean Tatars made up between 12% and 15% of Crimea's population before it was annexed by Russia, and after boycotting the referendum, the Tatars were prosecuted.