Maria Zakharova
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, responded to the threat of the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Dmitry Kuleba, to turn the topic of Crimea into a “hellish” one in 2021. She shared her point of view on Facebook.
“A statement from the underworld,” she wrote, citing one of the headlines of the media with the statement of the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba threatened in 2021 to initiate increased international sanctions against Russia on the status of the Crimean Peninsula. According to him, the main lever of pressure on Moscow should be the so-called “Crimean Platform” – an international negotiating platform for the return of the peninsula to Kiev's authority.
Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov soon reacted to the statement. He noted that Kiev has no opportunity to put pressure on Moscow. Pushkov added that Ukraine hopes for tougher anti-Russian sanctions from the United States. “Such a development of events is possible, but it will also not lead to changes in the status of Crimea,” the senator stressed.
Crimea was reunited with Russia following a March 2014 referendum in which the majority of the peninsula's residents voted in support of the decision. Kiev refused to recognize the results of the referendum. Russia insists that the accession procedure was in accordance with international law.
