In Crimea, under Russian occupation, there will be no civilized and stable economy, there will be no money, there will be constant chaos, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

As he noted, speaking via video link at Italy's Forum of the European House Ambrosetti on Friday, "without Crimea, without Donbas, without our occupied territories, there will be no real sustainable peace in Ukraine, which means there will be no peace in this European area".

"Just look at what happens when Crimea is controlled by Russia. Do they have civilization? No. Do they have tourists? No. Do they have more jobs? No. Do more businesses come to them? No. Why? Since that Ukraine, being a civilized country according to all norms of international law, does not recognize Crimea as part of Russia. And the world does the same. When world politicians do not recognize this, business does not recognize it," he said.

Zelenskyy said "If business on any continent does not recognize this, it means that there will not be a stable economy, they will not have this economy, they will not have money, there will be constant chaos."

"This is exactly what Russia is striving for. There will be no this peninsula that attracts tourists. It turned into militarized, occupied piece of land. Therefore, they cannot develop in this way. So yes, it [Crimea] can be returned diplomatically. And it is also possible by military means," the head of state said.

"We are for the Russian forces to leave the peninsula without our pressure, because this will mean fewer victims. We take care of our people. Let Putin take care of his citizens," he said.