Proposals to let go of Crimea to end war unacceptable for Ukraine - Crimean Tatars

That’s according to a statement by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, posted on Facebook by the head of the representative body, Refat Chubarov, reports Ukrinform.

It is noted that since the first days of the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Tatar people have massively and decisively opposed Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea and supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the independent Ukrainian state.

"Expressing the position of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, the Mejlis proceeds from the fact that a mandatory condition for conducting formal negotiations on the issue of ending the Russo-Ukrainian war should be the restoration of the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state within its internationally recognized borders," the statement reads.

The Mejlis commented on statements containing proposals for Ukraine to agree to the actual occupation of Crimea and other Ukrainian lands.

"The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people is positive that concessions in any form to Russia’s territorial encroachments on Crimea and other occupied lands in Ukraine will not only fail to bring the expected peace, it will also become a factor in the emergence of more military and political conflicts," the document states.

The statement also emphasized that Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine.

"Crimea is the homeland to the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of the Ukrainian state. Accordingly, no decision regarding the territorial affiliation of the Crimean Peninsula, its legal status, organization of its political, economic, social, and cultural life should and can be made without the will of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and the consent of the Ukrainian state," the document states.

As Ukrinform reported, information appeared in some Western media about Donald Trump's "peace plan" for ending the war in Ukraine, which may involve a demand to refrain from trying to join NATO for the next 20 years, as well as to freezing the front line without regaining Russia-captured territories.