"We could postpone it for 20 years": Polish Foreign Minister suggests placing Crimea under UN mandate to prepare a "fair referendum"

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has proposed to place the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, temporarily occupied by Russia, under a UN mandate. This is allegedly necessary to prepare, in his view, a fair referendum.

He says that the Crimean peninsula is of key importance if the terms of peace between Ukraine and Russia are to be discussed. The Polish Foreign Minister expressed this personal opinion at the 20th annual YES meeting in Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

"Crimea is symbolically important for Russia and especially for Putin, but it is strategically important for Ukraine. Therefore, I do not see how they can reach an agreement without demilitarizing Crimea," Sikorski said.

He believes that if both countries are willing, "a solution could be found" to this issue. In particular, he said, Crimea could be placed under a UN mandate with a mission to "prepare a fair referendum."

"After verifying who the legal residents are, and so on... And we could postpone it for 20 years," the Polish foreign minister voiced one of the options.

At the same time, he also expressed the opinion that it was a big mistake of the West, particularly the Americans, to tell Ukrainians not to fight in Crimea.

"If Ukrainians had fought in Crimea, even symbolically, he (Putin – Ed.) might not have decided to go to Donbas," Sikorski explained his position.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently declared Ankara's unwavering support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. He also noted that Kyiv's return of control over Crimea is a requirement of international law.

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