Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he tried to raise the Crimea issue at negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Russia remains reluctant to discuss this
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2020) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he tried to raise the Crimea issue at negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Russia remains reluctant to discuss this.
"When I met in Normandy with [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel, we raised this issue, as well as with French Republic President [Emmanuel Macron]. And honestly, I told this Putin. I feel that Russia, of course, does not want to discuss this thing. But we remember that this is our land, these are our people," Zelenskyy said at a press conference.
Crimea rejoined Russia after nearly 97 percent of voters supported the move in the March 2014 referendum. The majority of Western countries, as well as Ukraine, have not recognized the referendum results and imposed sanctions on Russia. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Crimea's residents decided to rejoin Russia through a democratic procedure, and the referendum was conducted in compliance with international law. According to Putin, the issue of the peninsula's territorial belonging is "historically closed."
