Germany's navy head asserts Crimea will 'never' return to Ukraine from Russia

Head of Germany’s Navy Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schonbach has stated that he believed Crimea would “never” return to Ukraine despite Kyiv's attempts to pressurise Moscow. In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and is also part of the wide Russo-Ukrainian conflict. According to Sputnik, weighing on Crimea’s fate, during a conference hosted by India's Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on Friday, Schonbach said, “The Crimea is gone, and it will never come back”.

Additionally, speaking of the countries that want to be a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) German Navy’s head said that the alliance’s membership criteria are met by Georgia but its membership would be “illogical” considering the consequences it might have on ties with Russia. According to Schonbach, India and Germany need Russia to confront the growing influence of China.

Considering Crimea’s annexation, the latest remarks by the German Navy head came as Russia has raised concerns for the West by ramping up its troop presence near its border with Ukraine. While the West has worried that Moscow might launch an ‘invasion’ into its neighbouring nation, Russia has categorically denied such allegations. Most recently, US Secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday. 

‘Russia does not threaten Ukrainian people’

Meanwhile, on Friday, as per Sputnik, Lavrov said that Russia has never threatened the Ukrainian people and is also not planning to invade Ukraine. As per the news agency, the Russian Foreign Minister said, “You mentioned the statement that Ukraine does not pose any threat to Russia. I would like to once again remind those who are analysing our position that Russia has nowhere and never threatened the Ukrainian people.”

Further, Lavrov added that Moscow urged Washington to put pressure on Kyiv to implement the Minsk agreements. Russian Foreign Minister said, “I have not heard a single argument today that would substantiate the US position on what is happening on the Russian-Ukrainian border, only concerns". Additionally, despite reaching no breakthroughs in the high stakes meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva, the US Secretary of State said on Friday that both sides are "on a clear path to understanding".

Image: AP