Moscow considers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement regarding the desire to Kiev to recapture Crimea “by non-military means” like negotiations – something that is excluded. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by TASS.
“For us, this is nothing more than a discussion of the alienation of territory from Russia. There can be no other understanding here. This is out of the question“, he was categorical about Zelensky’s speech.
“Such speculations show yet again the unpreparedness, unwillingness and inability of the Ukrainian side solve the problem by non-military means,” Peskov added.
Earlier, in an interview with the British newspaper “Financial Times” Zelensky stated this would be strongly in favor if someone was willing to propose a way for Ukraine to take back Crimea by non-military means.
Peskov noted that some media “absolutely distorted the essence of this statement”, interpreting it “hardly as President Zelensky’s willingness to deal with the issue not by military means, but through peaceful negotiations.”
This is a completely wrong interpretation, the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
“You know that from the very beginning – in fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin has mentioned this more than once, even before the start of the special military operation – Ukraine’s constitution states that Crimea must be forcibly returned. In fact, Ukraine has not given up,” he stressed.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a hastily organized referendum – deemed illegal by the international community – in which voters chose to join Russia.
