Zelensky: Ukraine will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia
Ukraine will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with RAI 1, published on Friday.
"We will never recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. We are ready to talk with the Russian Federation that a decision on Crimea is not in time. There is a war going on, human lives are precious. Let's put aside this issue if it is painful, complicates the negotiation process, the process of meeting the presidents of Ukraine and Russia," Zelensky said.
According to him, "our delegation in Turkey offered to omit this issue, but not forever. They suggested that our states should settle the issue of Crimea within 10 years. We have not heard the answer to this question."
Zelensky also, according to him, is not ready to talk about the "autonomy" of the so-called "DPR" and "LPR". "They destroyed the part [of Donbas] that was under our control. Now they [Russia] have recognized them as separate republics that are not part of Ukraine. They separated them," he said, answering a question about Ukraine's possible recognition of "autonomies" in Donbas.
"Before talking about the formats of these territories, one couldn’t have killed tens of thousands of people. We will never recognize their autonomy," the president said.