No decision on Crimea can be made without Ukraine and Crimean Tatars, Mejlis leader told Euronews

Donald Trump’s triumph successful the US statesmanlike elections has near galore crossed the satellite wondering astir what Washington's overseas argumentation is going to look like, particularly regarding Ukraine.

The main interest is whether Trump's program would see immoderate imaginable territorial concessions, specifically connected Crimea. 

Refat Chubarov, president of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, told Euronews that immoderate bid statement astatine the disbursal of Ukraine’s territorial concessions, successful peculiar regarding Crimea would beryllium "an indulgence to the aggressor to destruct some the Ukrainian authorities and the Crimean Tatar people, due to the fact that Russia volition comprehend this arsenic weakness."

Shortly aft the US statesmanlike elections, the Mejlis — the lone authorised typical and enforcement assemblage of the Crimean Tatar radical — issued a connection connected the "inadmissibility of compromises astatine the disbursal of territorial concessions by Ukraine".

Chubarov quoted it, stating that "Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar radical and an integral portion of the Ukrainian state," and that nary determination tin beryllium made successful their name, not present oregon ever.

The Mejlis has agelong had the credibility to determine connected each matters pertaining to the Tatars successful Crimea. It is often described arsenic the taste group's legislative body, but it is simply a de-facto enforcement committee oregon council. It is not an authoritative authorities institution, but it does service arsenic the assemblage representing the Crimean Tatar radical earlier the Crimean government, the authorities of Ukraine, and planetary organisations.

After the annexation of Crimea successful March 2014, Moscow declared the Mejlis an extremist organisation and banned its activities successful Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea. 

Chubarov near the Black Sea peninsula soon afterwards.

In 2021, a Moscow-imposed tribunal sentenced him to six years successful prison, accepting claims helium was blameworthy of organising wide riots successful 2014 and of issuing calls to "violate Russia’s integrity" — the wording utilized by the Kremlin to picture Crimean Tatars fiercely opposing the annexation. 

“No federation volition ever springiness up its land. That is wherefore everyone needs to calm down here, we request to look for conditions for peace, but not astatine the disbursal of Ukrainian land”, helium told Euronews successful Brussels, arsenic Ukraine marked 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

'Red line' for Moscow, not up for statement for Kyiv

Chubarov believes that Ukraine’s partners made a mistake successful 2014 with the mode they reacted to the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s archetypal penetration of Ukraine.

A week ago, the erstwhile president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, told Euronews that the EU has fixed up anticipation that Ukraine volition ever win successful recovering Crimea. 

When asked astir these comments, Chubarov said immoderate of the European leaders who were successful powerfulness astatine that clip admitted they made a mistake, similar France’s erstwhile President Francois Hollande.

"Hollande said, let’s beryllium honest, successful bid to halt the Russian aggression we request to halt each possibilities of supplying vigor carriers, chiefly lipid and state from Russia."

"Because this is the merchandise done which Russia is sidesplitting its neighbours, Hollande said,” Chubarov recalled.

Ten years later, Crimea is wide seen arsenic the cornerstone of the Kremlin’s strategy implicit Ukraine and the biggest "red line" for Moscow, arsenic Kremlin person Vladimir Putin said galore times. 

Meanwhile, the aboriginal of Crimea is not up for statement for Kyiv, arsenic Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly stated that "the warfare is not implicit until Ukraine liberates Crimea".