Ukraine will be able to restore its sovereignty over the peninsula, the top diplomat is convinced.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Ukraine expects the European Union to introduce the post of Special Representative for Crimea.

"We would like to see that the post of the EU special representative for Crimea is introduced," Kuleba said in an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

At the same time, the minister is convinced Russia will eventually withdraw from Crimea.

"I'm absolutely confident that Russia will eventually withdraw from Crimea, that Ukraine will regain its sovereignty, Crimean Tatars will return to the peninsula and will enjoy living on their native soil," Kuleba said.

Meanwhile, Kuleba noted, "Russia is Russifying Crimea. Crimean Tatar Mejlis – a representative body [of Crimean Tatars] – is prohibited. Education in Ukrainian is available to only 0.2% of schoolchildren in Crimea. All these things are clear violations of international humanitarian law."

The foreign minister added that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has done a lot for the peninsula, including when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Crimean Declaration was adopted in 2018.

"But at the same time, President-elect [Joe] Biden knows the story of Ukraine and its fight against the Russian aggression from the time he was the vice president under [former] President [Barack] Obama," Kuleba said.

"He [Biden] will be pretty tough on Russia, when it comes to its aggression against Ukraine. And we will have a comprehensive result-oriented dialogue with his administration on this issue. By the way, President Biden is the first American president in history who does not have to learn the Ukrainian file after being elected, because he already knows that file very well,” the foreign minister added.

 

 Source - UNIAN

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02.12.2020 12:17