Vice President of USIP: Consistent international policy needed for Crimea de-occupation

It also depends on how successful Ukraine will become, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, incumbent Executive Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace William Taylor said in a commentary to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Crimea should remain a top-priority issue on the political agenda of the international community. Crimea is important not only for people who lived and currently live on the peninsula. Crimea is important for another part of Ukraine and for the international community," the former high-ranking diplomat said on the sidelines of the conference "Crimea after Five Years of Russian Occupation", which was held in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.

He stressed that primarily it was a case of Russia's violation of the norms and standards that had ensured a peaceful existence in Europe in the post-war period.

“These norms were destroyed when Russia invaded Crimea,” Taylor noted.

The expert also stressed that the sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries had a certain effect, though did not stop the Russian aggression. At the same time, Taylor stressed, the sanctions should be strengthened.

As for the political prospects for restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea, the Executive Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace noted that a similar precedent had already occurred when the United States and the West had not recognized the annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union. Time passed and everything fell into place: now these countries are the members of NATO and the European Union.

"Therefore, we must act in the same way and consistently pursue the policy of non-recognition of the Russian annexation of Crimea," Taylor said.

At the same time, according to him, this process can be accelerated, if Ukraine becomes successful in political, economic and military terms.

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