Lukashenko called the annexed Ukrainian Crimea “Russian” | Major political events in Belarus: assessments, forecasts, comments | Dw

The ruler of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said in an interview with the general director of the news agency “Russia Today” Dmitry Kiselev that Crimea, annexed by the Russian Federation, became “Russian territory” after a “referendum” was held on the peninsula. “Crimea is de facto Russian Crimea. After the referendum and de jure, Crimea became Russian,” the state agency BelTA quoted him as saying on Tuesday, November 30.

Lukashenko also said that he was going to visit Crimea and that there was already an agreement on this score with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although the exact dates when such a trip could take place had not yet been determined. According to the Belarusian ruler, his arrival in Crimea “will mean the recognition of the peninsula as part of Russia.”

Annexation of Crimea

The Russian Federation annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in late February – early March 2014. Soldiers of Russian special forces in unmarked uniform blocked the buildings of the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and then took control of the territory of the peninsula.

On March 16, the so-called “referendum on the status of Crimea,” initiated by Moscow, was held in Crimea, after which the Ukrainian region was annexed by Russia. In December 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in which the Russian Federation is designated as an “occupying power” and the peninsula is designated as a “temporarily occupied” territory.

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