Refat Chubarov, chairman of the Crimean Tatar Majlis, told Euronews that any peace deal at the expense of territorial concessions, including Crimea, would be “an indulgence towards the aggressor to destroy both the state Ukrainian and the Crimean Tatar people.
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Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections has left many people around the world wondering about what Washington’s foreign policy will be, especially regarding Ukraine.
The main concern is whether Trump’s plan would include possible territorial concessions, particularly over Crimea.
Refat Chubarov, chairman of the Crimean Tatar Majlis, told Euronews that any peace agreement at the expense of Ukraine’s territorial concessions, particularly regarding Crimea, would be “an indulgence towards the aggressor to destroy at both the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people, because Russia will perceive this as weakness.”
Shortly after the US presidential elections, the Majlis – the sole authorized representative and executive body of the Crimean Tatar people – issued a statement on “the inadmissibility of compromise at the expense of territorial concessions from Ukraine.”
Chubarov quoted her, stating that “Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous people of the Crimean Tatars and an integral part of the Ukrainian state”, and that no decisions can be made on their behalf, not now, not ever. .
The Majlis has long enjoyed the credibility to decide all issues relating to the Crimean Tatars. It is often described as the legislative body of the ethnic group, but it is a de facto executive commission or council. It is not a formal government institution, but serves as a representative body of the Crimean Tatar people to the Crimean government, the Ukrainian government, and international organizations.
After the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Moscow declared the Majlis an extremist organization and banned its activities in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea.
Chubarov left the Black Sea peninsula soon after.
In 2021, a Moscow-installed court sentenced him to six years in prison, accepting allegations that he was guilty of organizing mass riots in 2014 and making calls to “violate the integrity of Russia” – the formulation used by the Kremlin to describe Crimean Tatars who fiercely oppose annexation.
“No nation will ever give up its territory. That is why everyone must calm down here, we must seek the conditions for peace, but not at the expense of the Ukrainian land,” he told Euronews at Brussels, as Ukraine and the whole world marked the thousandth day since the total invasion of Russia in February 2022.
“Red line” for Moscow, “no discussions” for Kyiv
Mr. Chubarov believes that Ukraine’s partners made a mistake in 2014 with their weak response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and initial invasion of Ukraine.
A week ago, the former president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, told Euronews that “no one believes that Ukraine will recover Crimea”.
Asked about the comments, Mr. Chubarov said that some of the European leaders who were in power at the time had admitted to having made a mistake, such as former French President François Hollande.
“Mr. Hollande said, let’s be honest, that to put an end to Russian aggression, we must stop any possibility of supplies of energy carriers, mainly oil and gas, from Russia.”
“Because it is thanks to this product that Russia kills its neighbors, said Mr. Hollande,” remembers Mr. Tchoubarov.
Ten years later, Crimea is widely seen as the cornerstone of the Kremlin’s strategy towards Ukraine and the biggest “red line” for Moscow, as the Kremlin leader has repeatedly stated , Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, the future of Crimea is not up for debate in Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly stating that “the war is not over until Ukraine not liberated Crimea.
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