Issue of water supply to Crimea can be discussed only if it is clearly seen what concessions Russia will make for this – Razumkov
The Ukrainian authorities can start discussing the issue of resuming water supplies to the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea only if they understand exactly what concessions the Russian Federation is ready to make, said Dmytro Razumkov, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
"I would like to hear this, after all, not from the TCG spokesperson, but from those who are much deeper involved in this process. Theoretically, everything is possible, but we need to understand the entire spectrum of existing issues since this is not only an issue of water supply to Crimea, but there are also remarks heard that someone will have to make some concessions. What kind of concessions? And then it will be possible to sit at the negotiation table. Otherwise, it's just a conversation for the sake of conversation. It's not professional, and I try not to comment on unprofessional comments," said Razumkov at a briefing at the All-Ukrainian Forum of local self-government on Friday.
As reported, spokesperson of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on resolving the situation in Donbas and adviser to the head of the President's Office, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview with Telegraph that the Ukrainian authorities might change their position on the resumption of water supplies to Crimea in case of "very serious concessions" from Russia. Arestovych specified that the water supply to Crimea "could be changed for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the withdrawal of troops from Donbas, the return of ORDLO on our [Ukrainian] terms."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in turn, announced that water from mainland Ukraine would be supplied to the de-occupied Crimea and recalled that the problem of water resources had become aggravated against the background of the massive Russian militarization of the Crimean peninsula.
"The ultimate goal of Ukraine's efforts should be the complete de-occupation of Ukrainian territories – both the Crimean peninsula and separate areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions," spokesperson of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleh Nikolenko said.
