Ukraine is ready for Crimea talks if counteroffensive succeeds
Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Andrii Sybiha, stated that Ukraine was ready to start negotiations on Crimea if the Ukrainian Armed Forces approached the peninsula.
Rubryka reports, citing his interview with the Financial Times.
The Crimean peninsula has been illegally occupied by russian forces since 2014 after organizing a military coup and sham referendum claiming the people of Crimea want to be part of russia and announcing the peninsula's annexation. Many Crimeans were displaced after that to the neighboring regions. Others who stayed and fought against the occupation experienced oppression and persecution. The international community condemned the annexation as an illegal land grab.
"If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open [a] diplomatic page to discuss this issue," Sybiha said, referring to Kyiv's planned spring counteroffensive.
However, he clarified that this does not mean that the Ukrainian authorities rule out the liberation of Crimea by the Defense Forces.
The British defense attaché in Washington, Tim Woods, said the day before that Crimea would require "a political solution because of just the concentration of force that is there and what it would mean for the Ukrainians to go in there."
"I don't think there's going to be a rapid military solution… hence we need to see what are favorable conditions for Ukraine to negotiate, and I think Ukraine would be up for that," he said.
The ex-commander of US forces in Europe, Ben Hodges, predicted that the liberation of Crimea would be possible by the end of the summer of 2023.
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In March, President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Ukraine is ready to sit down at the negotiating table only after the withdrawal of its troops from the territory of Ukraine.
However, in November, he said he was ready to consider options for the non-military return of Crimea annexed by russia. However, he urged not to waste time on options that do not involve the de-occupation of the peninsula.
Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the President's Office, predicted in an interview with Radio Liberty at the beginning of April that Ukraine would be in Crimea again in 5-7 months.
"Perhaps, this is too optimistic, but this is mathematically verified optimism. I say once again there are not enough resources in russia to contain the situation. The logic of war is undeniable, and we can talk about the realities of Crimea on the coast of Yalta," said Podoliak.
