Germany also gives us an opportunity to comment. Unfortunately not at positive moments in our relationships. Recently, our German colleagues have clearly shown excessive interest in the Russian Crimea. At first, the UN ambassador to that country was concerned about the fate of the Crimean Tatars and the alleged lack of access by international observers to the peninsula (we have already commented on this). Then the declaration of the Federal Foreign Minister Maas as chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the 7th anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia was published, in which all topics from the situation on the peninsula to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights to the Minsk Agreement on the settlement of the conflict was published were mixed in the Donbass.
We call on Mr Maas and others, who are allegedly concerned about the fate of the Crimean people, to respect the choice they made in 2014 and to stop telling fairy tales about the peninsula while treating the Crimean people with sanctions, disregard of theirs Passports and non-issuance of visas are penalized. If you want to focus on this topic, Mr. Maas, start with facts. Tell about the referendum. Try to remember where and when referendums on self-determination were held in the regions you support. Remember the laws passed in Crimea after 2014 to help people of different nationalities speaking different languages. Finally send your representatives there, e.g. your diplomats from the Foreign Office. Let them speak to people in person. Stop relying on lies and falsehoods.
It should be recalled that Crimea was reintegrated into Russia in accordance with the principle of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act on Self-Determination of the Peoples of Russia. This principle was implemented by the Crimean residents in the most democratic way, namely through a referendum. Please do not forget that, Mr Maas. This decision is final and not subject to revision.
The fact that Mr Maas, as ex-Justice Minister, interprets the preliminary decision of the European Court of Human Rights from January 14, 2021 on the dispute initiated by Ukraine is astonishing. In that decision, the Court, as is known, stated that it had jurisdiction to hear the matter and found that a number of allegations by Ukraine against Russia had not been proven. The testimony of the chairman of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers looks like an attempt to put pressure on the Court of Justice.
With a view to the Minsk agreements on Donbass, Mr Maas asked Russia to implement them. But Russia, like Germany, France and the OSCE, is only a mediator in resolving the conflict between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk. There is this document with the signatures. You know about it, Mr Maas. Why are you misleading everyone? Perhaps you forgot that the events in Crimea and Donbass were triggered by the coup on the Kiev Majdan in February 2014, in which Germany, France and Poland mediated between the government and the opposition and convinced the legitimately elected president not to use violence against hardly use peaceful protesters. At the same time, Berlin became the guarantor of the agreements reached, but did nothing to protect them when the opposition trampled them. Basically, the so-called mediators and guarantors were involved in an unconstitutional armed coup and the seizure of power by the national radicals. It is impossible that you do not know about it or have forgotten about it. With the tacit support of the West (Germany was at the center of events), the winners of the coup d’état on the Kyiv Majdan first began to repress the dissatisfied and then unleashed the conflict in Donbass, which remains unsolved because Kiev is unwilling to accept the Minsk Implement agreement. In doing so, Germany and France are not doing their part of the job by not getting Kiev to fulfill its obligations.
Since Germany bears a large part of the responsibility for these events, we propose to Federal Foreign Minister Maas that he address his concerns to himself. We see his declaration as proof that Germany is not prepared to act as an “honest broker” while chairing the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Such a policy will split the organization, have a negative impact on the general atmosphere in the Council of Europe and will strain preparations for the meeting of the Committee of Ministers in Berlin in May 2021.
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