On Wednesday, December 4, during a press conference “Risks of the Normandy Format meeting, possible alternative plans for Ukraine” in Kyiv, the Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, a member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, said that Russia itself was interested in the negotiation process, so that it could weaken or discontinue the sanctions policy on the part of the Western world, and restore water supply to the Crimea. Therefore, Ukraine needs to be a subject, not an object, and take a stand for its national interests.
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“What we see today, including political insinuations on the part of the Russian Federation regarding the upcoming Normandy Format meeting, clearly demonstrates that Russia is already interested in the negotiation process. And not because Ukraine needs it. It is necessary for the Russian Federation itself. But on the other hand, Russia is trying to present it on its own terms”,- Bariiev claimed.
The Head of the СTRC Board believes that the sanctions policy that has been going on for more than 5 years is working. The Russian Federation itself is interested in the negotiation process, so that the sanctions policy on the part of the Western world is weakened or discontinued, and water supply to Crimea is restored. Therefore, Ukraine needs to be a subject, not an object, and take a stand for its national interests.
“There is preliminary information that by March 2020, the Russian Federation will face big problems significant issues with water supply. The wells there pumped water from underground lakes, bringing it to the North Crimean Canal at the level of Nizhnegorsky and Sovetsky districts. This water seems to end”,- he added.
A member of Mejlis also noted that Russia violated the provisions of the Budapest memorandum, which destabilized the situation in Ukraine and complicates the situation of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, against whom regular repressions are carried out.
“In just 9 months of 2019, 80 searches were carried out, 62 of them were conducted in relation to the Crimean Tatars. 126 detentions, 113 of them in relation to the Crimean Tatars. 169 interrogations, 115 of them in relation to the Crimean Tatars. 282 arrests, 196 – of them against the Crimean Tatars”,- Bariiev explained.