Home Europe Crimea summit a reminder: The West hasn’t undone Russian annexation

Crimea summit a reminder: The West hasn’t undone Russian annexation

by editor

KYIV — An international summit held Monday in Ukraine to publicize the plight of Russian-occupied Crimea also put a harsh spotlight on the West’s failure to force a reversal by the Kremlin.

Despite seven years of economic sanctions from the EU and its allies, Moscow remains firmly in control of the peninsula, which it invaded in 2014 and absorbed following a referendum vote held with tanks and armed soldiers on the streets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy created Monday’s summit, called Crimean Platform, in a bid to counter the lack of global attention to the ongoing situation on the Black Sea peninsula. The event drew leaders from more than 40 countries, as well as European Council President Charles Michel, who delivered a pointed speech saying Brussels would never recognize Crimea as part of Russia.

Noting that Ukraine is celebrating 30 years of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Michel said: “I will go straight to the point: Independence means sovereignty, and it means territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders.”

He bluntly reiterated “the EU’s unwavering stance: We do not and will not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia. We will continue to staunchly enforce our non-recognition policy. And we will stand tall against any violations of international law.”

But the glaring absence of the EU’s two most prominent national leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who visited Kyiv on Sunday instead — and French President Emmanuel Macron, suggested that the summit was viewed as a largely futile messaging exercise, and that attending was not worth the risk of antagonizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Merkel, who is nearing the end of her fourth and final term, visited Putin in Moscow last week and made clear that her top priority is securing an agreement to guarantee Ukraine five more years of natural gas transit revenues from Russia despite the soon-to-be-completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which Russia could use to bypass Ukraine.  

Driving home the point, Germany instead sent to the summit its economic affairs and energy minister, Peter Altmaier, who held talks on the sidelines of the summit with Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko and U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who led a three-person American delegation.

Unlike the ongoing Russian-backed military conflict in eastern Ukraine, which is the subject of the Normandy Format peace process led by Germany and France, the occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol is scarcely discussed among international diplomats.

Putin has made clear that he views the annexation of Crimea as non-negotiable. Crimea residents have been issued Russian passports, and the Kremlin spent some €2.6 billion to construct a bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland. Local residents and advocacy groups have reported harsh discrimination against the Crimean-Tatar community, as well as forced deportations and other rights abuses.

Moscow has stressed Crimea’s historic, linguistic and cultural ties to Russia as a justification for the annexation, as well as the results of the 2014 referendum, in which it claimed more than 80 percent of residents voted to become part of Russia. The referendum was deemed illegitimate by most of the world’s governments because of the Russian military presence.

Several leaders gave speeches denouncing the Russian annexation. “This flagrant violation of international law is still on the international agenda,” said Latvian President Egils Levits. “The respect for borders, the respect for territorial integrity of the states is a basis for peace.”

But some leaders at the summit, like Slovenian President Borut Pahor, expressed a degree of ambivalence. Pahor stressed that Slovenia had good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, and said he hoped the countries work out their problems.

“I came here also to call for a sincere dialogue between Ukraine and the Russian Federation,” he said. “Slovenia has good relations with both Ukraine and Russia. As a strong advocate of good neighborly relations, I sincerely wish Ukraine and Russia will someday, somehow settle their bilateral relations.”

Most leaders, however, sided clearly against Russia. European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovsksis, a former Latvian prime minister said, “Crimea is Ukraine. I come from a Baltic country. We know what it means to lose freedom and sovereignty.”

Zelenskiy, in his speech opening the summit, sought to portray Russia’s seizure of Crimea as a matter of profound global significance because it demonstrated a lack of respect for international laws and norms.

“This issue is important for the whole world,” he said. “Ukrainian Crimea was a guarantee of regional stability. Now it’s a powder keg.”

He added: “The occupation of Crimea also calls into question the effectiveness of the entire international security system, principles of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.”

On the domestic front, Zelenskiy’s government has worked hard to demonstrate support for Crimea, which was designated as an autonomous republic under the Ukrainian Constitution, and where local officials and residents long complained of neglect from Kyiv before the invasion.

In his speech, Zelenskiy noted that in March his government adopted a Strategy of Deoccupation and Reintegration of Crimea, and that the Ukrainian parliament had adopted a law granting Crimean Tatars special status as an indigenous community. He also noted that the parliament had repealed a law creating a “free economic zone” that critics said was used as a mechanism to bypass sanctions.

Despite the renewed attention on Crimea, Monday’s summit was conducted in Ukrainian, English and Crimean-Tatar, but notably not in Russian, which is the native tongue of a majority of Crimea’s residents. It was a small detail that nonetheless illustrated the extent to which even language has become deeply politicized during the seven years of war between Russia and Ukraine.

Zelenskiy cited the rights abuses by the occupying authorities in pleading for international support to pressure Russia.

“Crimea has become a territory where human rights and freedoms are grossly and systematically violated,” he said. “Political persecution, enforced disappearances, illegal detention of more than 100 political prisoners, torture, suppression of media freedom and religion, expropriation of property, forced demographic changes, illegal conscription of Ukrainian citizens into the Russian army, propaganda of war among children — such, unfortunately, are the sad realities of Crimea today.”

Ukraine, he said, can’t unilaterally fix the problem.

“We are aware that Ukraine alone will never be able to return Crimea,” Zelenskiy said. “I will do everything possible to return Crimea so that Crimea, together with Ukraine, becomes part of Europe.”

Michel, in his speech, said that EU sanctions adopted in 2014 to punish Russia were imposing “a heavy cost.” Those measures, however, have seemingly done nothing to dent Putin’s resolve. Still, Michel said they would remain in place.

“We want to reiterate that Ukraine will never be alone,” he said. “ And that Crimea is Ukraine.”

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