The head of the board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, a member of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Eskender Bariiev, in his interview with Hromadske Radio, commented on the recent statement of MP David Arahamia about supplying Dnipro water to the occupied Crimea in exchange for the liberation of Donbas and emphasized that water is the main tool in the de-occupation of the peninsula.
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“On the one hand, this is either a deliberate statement or a Freudian slip. After all, he is not just a deputy, he is the leader of the faction that holds a majority in the parliament and can take serious decisions. His comparison of the water supply to Crimea with Donbas, is absolutely wrong, in my opinion", Bariiev explained.
The head of the CTRC expressed concern that there might be some negotiations to "drain" Crimea. There should be an understanding that in no case can water be exchanged either for the Donbas or for the release of political prisoners, because "today they will release political prisoners in exchange for water, but tomorrow they will detain new ones".
“Today, Russia is seriously concerned about supplying water, because, according to our sources, already this March, Crimea will face a serious water problem, which will only worsen, approaching summer. And there are no other sources of water supply in Crimea, except for Dnipro water. Therefore, water is the main tool in the de-occupation of Crimea," he added.
A member of Mejlis also named as an example two similar statements by the representative of the president in the ARC, Anton Korinevich. The first is that Ukraine is not ready for the de-occupation of Crimea, "but, excuse me, if there is no strategy, then you will not be ready." In the second statement, it was suggested to discuss the Crimean Tatar autonomy among all Crimean citizens”. Such statements hints on the idea of a referendum.
“On the other hand, he, as an international lawyer, must clearly understand that this is a natural right of the indigenous people to self-determination. We must once and for all settle the issue of the existence of administrative autonomies, such as the ARC, in the legal field of Ukraine, so as to prevent the ideas of the federalization of Ukrainian state," said Eskender Bariiev.