Ukrainian foreign minister threatens Crimea topic to become “hell” for Russia next year

Dmytro Kuleba said the main lever of pressure would be the launch of the so-called Crimean platform – a negotiating platform to coordinate international efforts aimed at returning the peninsula to Ukraine

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has promised to do everything possible to sharply increase international pressure on Russia on the Crimean issue in 2021.

“The topic of Crimea should be a hell of a topic for Russia, not a sacred one, and we will make it so. We have already done a lot for it,” he said in an interview published on Wednesday with Ukraine’s TSN news service. “I am absolutely convinced and I want every citizen to know that the day will come when the Ukrainian flag will be raised in Simferopol. I am working on this and we will achieve this goal”, – Kuleba concluded.

Kuleba also added that the main leverage will be the launch of the so-called Crimean platform, a negotiating platform for coordinating international efforts aimed at returning Crimea to Ukraine and protecting the rights of the peninsula’s residents who, according to Kiev, are allegedly persecuted. According to Kuleba, there are already countries that have confirmed support for the platform and readiness to participate in the summit, tentatively scheduled for spring 2021, but he did not specify which countries he was referring to.

“We are still negotiating and finalizing with them and other partners the meaning of what we are putting there”, –  the minister explained.