Peskov says issue of Crimea’s sovereignty off the table

The issue of Crimea’s sovereignty is closed for Russia, and Moscow is not reviewing this matter in the context of a settlement for southeastern Ukraine, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported. He responded to a request by reporters to comment on the intentions of some Ukrainian politicians to revert to the matter of their country’s territorial integrity based on the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.

The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances was signed by Russia, the UK, the US and Ukraine in 1994 as a security guarantee for Kiev after it signed on to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Among other items, the document stipulates Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The reporters asked about the observance of this provision on "the Crimean part."

"There is no ‘Crimean part,’ nor can there be one," Peskov said.

The presidential spokesman reconfirmed Moscow’s position that "a settlement in southeastern Ukraine may be achieved only as a result of the implementation of the Minsk accords."

"All the countries share the opinion that this document has no alternative and are guided by the necessity to carry it out," he stated.

"The implementation of the document is being stalled by Kiev," Peskov emphasized.