Ukraine not giving up Crimea to Russia

KYIV, April 28 ------ A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. 

It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. "It doesn't mean anything," said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party. "We will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia." Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender would permanently relinquish Crimea and abandon the hope that Ukraine could regain it in the future.  

But much of the public messaging about land concessions has suggested that they are not necessarily permanent, as when Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko told the BBC recently that Ukraine may need to temporarily give up land as part of a peace deal. Saying otherwise would effectively admit defeat a deeply unpopular move, especially for Ukrainians living under Russian occupation who hope to be liberated and reunited with their families one day. It also would call into question the sacrifices made by tens of thousands of Ukrainian service members who have been killed or wounded. 

US President Donald Trump underscored the Crimea proposal in an interview published Friday in Time magazine: "Crimea will stay with Russia. Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it's been with them for a long time." His comments offered the latest example of the US leader pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while it remains under siege. 

In the lead-up to peace talks, Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press for months that they expect Crimea and other Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia to be among Kyiv's concessions in the event of any deal. But Zelensky has said on multiple occasions that formally surrendering the land has always been a red line. Elements of Trump's peace proposal would see the US formally recognizing Crimea as Russian and de facto accepting Moscow's rule over occupied Ukrainian territories, according to a senior European official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic discussions. 

In return for territorial concessions, Ukraine wants robust security guarantees that ideally would include NATO membership or concrete plans to arm and train its forces against any future Russian invasion with the pledged support of allies. Zelensky has said negotiations over occupied Ukrainian territory will be drawn out and will not likely occur until a ceasefire is in place. He said giving up territory would be "the most difficult question" and "a big challenge for us." 

Formal recognition of Crimea would also amount to political suicide for Zelensky. It could expose him to legal action in the future, said Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and a former economics minister. Signing a potentially unconstitutional document could be interpreted as high treason, Mylovanov said. The Ukrainian government cannot act either. It has no constitutional means to accept a violation of its territorial integrity, and altering the territorial makeup of the country requires a nationwide referendum. 

Source: manilatimes.net