Western officials are warming to the idea of Ukraine crossing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s red line to retake Crimea, a Ukrainian official said.
Tamila Tasheva, Ukraine’s Crimean official, said in an interview with the Daily Beast that Western leaders have changed their tune on the idea that Ukraine could retake Crimea, which is widely seen as a red line for Putin’s intention to the ongoing war could lead to an escalation.
“We heard from Western leaders that … if we return to Crimea there would be an inevitable escalation that could even provoke a nuclear conflict,” Tasheva said, without specifying which leaders. “The rhetoric has changed as we explain more and more about what Crimea is, what it means for Russia and how things related to Crimea.”
Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and the region remains a focal point of the current war for Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In February, Politico reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a virtual meeting with experts and said that Ukraine’s retaking of Crimea is a red line for Putin, as the Russian president sees the region as part of Russia and not Ukraine .
Speaking a month earlier at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy told world leaders that Crimea is the land of Ukraine.
“Crimea is our land, territory, sea and mountains. Give us your weapons and we will bring our country back,” said Zelenskyy.
While it’s unclear which specific Western leaders Tasheva is talking about, US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said during a discussion last month at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “Russia has turned Crimea into a massive military installation. ..Ukraine beats them and we support that.”
Nuland’s comments prompted a response from the Russian embassy in the United States, which issued a statement that said: “Inciting Kiev criminals to attack Crimea is the same as urging them to attack Moscow or Vladivostok.” to attack.”
Last month, said William Reno, professor and chair of the political science department at Northwestern University news week that “while the White House maintains the line that Crimea is part of Ukraine, some officials note that Ukraine’s ability to hurt Russia in Crimea could strengthen Ukraine’s position in eventual negotiations.”
news week by e-mail with a request for comments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Russia.
