Volker: Return of Crimea by force to trigger military catastrophe

US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker expressed such a conviction at a video press conference on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"There is no military solution in the sense that Ukraine could return Crimea by force. It would be a military catastrophe that would lead to the loss of thousands and thousands of people," the US representative said.

In this regard, he underscored the need for restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine by diplomatic means, as well as the need for the return of the Crimean Tatars to their historic homeland.

Discussing the political process of settling the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, both within the Normandy format and in the context of the UN resolution on Crimea, Kurt Volker emphasized that progress in achieving peace is insufficient, and the West cannot be blamed for this.

"Russia is the only country, which can be blamed. Russia continues to control military operations, exercises absolute command control through its regular officers. It pays money to contract servicemen involved in military operations, it ensures intelligence operations, it finances the leadership of civilian administrations, which it created," the US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations said.

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