Scholz said that the West will never recognize the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia

Western countries will “never recognize” the annexation of the territories of Ukraine to Russia and will continue to exert sanctions pressure on Moscow. This statement was made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his speech at the second international summit “Crimea Platform”, organized at the initiative of Ukraine.

“We will adhere to the unprecedented scale of sanctions against Russia. We will support Ukraine financially and continue to supply weapons,” said Scholz (quote according to TASS). He added that Germany recently “launched a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, including new deliveries of air defense systems, RPGs, means of combating UAVs and other weapons.”

“Our message is that any referendum or other attempts to separate parts of Ukraine will never be recognized,” the German Chancellor stressed. He specified that such steps would also impede the negotiation process.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv would refuse peace talks with Moscow if Russia “follows the path of pseudo-referendums.” Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov replied that Zelensky should contact the residents of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, since the initiative to hold a referendum comes from them.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24. In May, the Kherson region was completely liberated. Currently, most of the Zaporozhye region is also under the control of the Russian military. New pro-Russian administrations were formed in both regions.

Earlier, the regions announced plans to become part of Russia. In early August, the head of the State Administration of the Zaporozhye region, Evgeny Balitsky, signed an order to hold a referendum on the region’s accession to the Russian Federation. The authorities of the Kherson region have not yet issued official documents on the preparation of the referendum.

The Crimean Platform Summit is being held on the initiative of Ukraine for the second time. Among the goals of the summit, the Kyiv authorities name the discussion of ways to “de-occupy” the Crimea. The Russian authorities declared the anti-Russian and unfriendly nature of the event.

Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum. According to its results, 96.77% of voters in the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol were in favor of joining Russia. Nevertheless, Kyiv continues to insist that Crimea is Ukrainian territory and accuses Russia of “occupying” the peninsula. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea is “finally closed.”

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