OSCE Chief Suggests Ukraine Should Not Try To Return Crimea, Donbas By Force

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 20, 2021 | 11:49 PM

The new OSCE chairman, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, said on Wednesday that Kiev should not drop the issues of Crimea and Donbas, but should not try to return the territories by force

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2021) The new OSCE chairman, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, said on Wednesday that Kiev should not drop the issues of Crimea and Donbas, but should not try to return the territories by force.

Answering the question in an interview with Europeiska Pravda about whether the return of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan could be an example for Ukraine, Linde said that Ukraine should never forget about Crimea and Donbas, but force should never be used because it is impossible to establish a sustainable peace by using force.

Crimea rejoined Russia after nearly 97 percent of voters supported the move in the March 2014 referendum. The majority of Western countries, as well as Ukraine, have not recognized the referendum results and placed sanctions on Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that Crimea's residents decided to rejoin Russia through a democratic procedure, adding that the referendum was conducted in compliance with international law.

The Donbas conflict ignited in 2014 as the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against Donetsk and Luhansk, which refused to recognize the new government in Kiev that came to power after what the breakaway region considered to be a coup.

In November, Yerevan and Baku agreed to a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, putting an end to the six-week war over the disputed area. The agreement resulted in the loss of most territories controlled by the self-proclaimed republic and stipulated the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the region.