Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced today that Kyiv will not give up on the demand that Russia withdraws its troops from Crimea and the parts it recently illegally annexed as a condition for ending the war. Kuleba called the war in Ukraine “a bloody wound in the middle of Europe ” and said that all parts of his country should be treated as if they were under the equal rule of Kyiv.
Kuleba: “Kyiv does not give up its demand that the Russian army withdraw from Crimea as a condition for ending the war”
“We were united by the principle of the United Nations charter and the common belief that Crimea is Ukraine and will be returned to Ukrainian control.”, Kuleba said in a video address to participants of the Black Sea Security Conference, which is being held in Bucharest.
Kuleba said that Ukraine categorically disagrees with claims that Crimea should not be returned to Ukraine. Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea on March 18, 2014, after a referendum that was not recognized by Kyiv and the international community.
The Kremlin wants Kyiv to recognize the Russian administration of Crimea and the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine has rejected these demands and does not want to negotiate with Moscow until Russian troops withdraw from all occupied territories.
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