Crimea holds crucial significance when discussing the terms of peace between Ukraine and russia. This was stated by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski during the nightcap discussion at the 20th annual YES meeting in Kyiv, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
"Crimea is symbolically important for russia, especially for (russian president) putin, but it is strategically vital for Ukraine. Therefore, I don't see how they can reach an agreement without the demilitarization of Crimea", - Sikorski said.
He believes that if both countries are willing, a solution could be found.
"We could place it under a UN mandate with a mission to prepare a fair referendum after verifying who the legitimate residents are, and so on... And we could postpone this for 20 years", - Sikorski suggested as one possible option.
The Polish minister also expressed the opinion that it was a significant mistake by the West, particularly the Americans, to tell Ukrainians not to fight in Crimea. "If the Ukrainians had fought in Crimea, even symbolically, putin might not have dared to move on Donbas", - Sikorski explained his position.