Russia will return Crimea as it returned independence to Baltic States - Volker

United States Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said this at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on Monday, May 7, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"We will say one thing, they [Russians] will say another [regarding the prospects for returning Crimea], and then we'll see what happens over time. The Baltic States were occupied by the Soviet Union for 40 years, and eventually that changed," Volker said.

In this regard, he said that the problem of Crimea is quite complicated. However, he noted that he was looking "with great admiration" at predecessors regarding the policy of non-recognition of the annexation of the Baltic States.

He also noted that the sanctions pressure on Russia would continue until it returns the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine. According to him, the "Crimean" package of sanctions against Russia was a clear message: "Going into another country, taking territory, and annexing it […] is simply unacceptable, and we are not going to agree to that."

op