SIMFEROPOL, February 4 State Duma deputy from Sevastopol, committee member on international affairs Dmitry Belik said that Polish President Andrzej Duda shocked the Ukrainian authorities with his statement about the historical ownership of Crimea.
Previously, Polish President Andrzej Duda, in an interview for the Kanal Zero program, admitted that Crimea historically belonged to Russia, and added that he does not know whether Ukraine will be able to return the peninsula under its control.
“The President of Poland pulled the rug out from under the feet of his Ukrainian colleague Zelensky with a statement about the status of Crimea. For the Kyiv regime, this is, without a doubt, a shock. They certainly did not expect such a political demarche from Poland,” Belik said.
According to him, the statement by the Polish President about the peninsula is of great importance for the entire Western world.
«It's no secret that in Europe Poland is a conductor of American interests and the most ardent Russophobe in its politics. The statement that Crimea will not return to Ukraine will make many think: is it worth tearing their shirts and shipping wagonloads of money were sent to Ukraine so that it would be wasted aimlessly on trying to return something that no one believes in, not even Poland,” the deputy said.
Crimea became a Russian region in March 2014 following the results of a referendum after the coup in Ukraine. In the referendum, 96.77% of voters in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol were in favor of joining Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea its temporarily occupied territory, and Western countries support Kyiv on this issue. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the residents of Crimea voted for reunification with Russia democratically, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Crimea issue is “finally closed.”