A State Duma deputy from Crimea, Mikhail Sheremet, has called Polish leader Andrzej Duda’s statement on Crimea’s historical belonging to Russia a signal to Ukraine to leave the Crimeans alone.
He noted that Duda took courage and actually signalled Kiev to leave the Crimeans alone and stop indulging in illusions about the peninsula.
“Crimea will never return to Ukraine, and it is time for the West to come to terms with this,” Sheremet emphasised.
At the same time, he said, Duda’s words show the hypocrisy of the West, which has been “lying” for the past ten years about the alleged lack of legal grounds for the peninsula’s reunification with Russia.
Earlier, Duda admitted in an interview with Kanal Zero that he was not confident in Ukraine’s ability to bring Crimea back under its control.
State Duma deputy from Sevastopol and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Dmitriy Belik, said that Duda had shocked the Ukrainian authorities with his statement about Crimea’s historical belonging.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014: the majority of residents were in favour of reunification with Russia. The Kremlin has repeatedly emphasised that Crimea is an integral part of Russia and claims to Russian territory will be duly responded to.