Ukraine to launch fresh initiative to return Crimea soon - Jaresko

This was announced by Finance Minister of Ukraine Natalie Jaresko in Davos on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

"We don't agree that Crimea has gone. This will be the year we really begin pressing forward on a process to return Crimea," Jaresko said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

According to her, Ukraine aimed to create a forum along the lines of the so-called Geneva format, a body that included Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States.

"We are looking to establish something bigger than the Geneva format to begin dialogue on how to return Crimea to Ukraine," the Finance Minister said.

Reuters notes that some legal experts believe Ukraine can successfully use Crimea's annexation as a lever against Russia if Moscow carries out its threat to take Kyiv to a British court over non-payment of a $3 billion debt. However, Jaresko declined to comment on that possibility, the agency reports.

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