Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov says the Crimean Tatar Mejlis will not recognize Russia’s control over Crimea or any international acknowledgment of the peninsula as Russian.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the US is expecting a response from Ukraine on its peace proposals. These proposals concern the recognition of Crimea as Russian and include Kyiv’s refusal to join NATO. The US has also been considering establishing a neutral zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
“The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people categorically rejects both the recognition of Russia’s de facto control over Crimea and, even more so, any international recognition of Crimea as Russian territory,” Chubarov claims.
He stressed that the Mejlis’s position is grounded in international law and fully aligned with Ukrainian national legislation.
Under Russian occupation, Crimean Tatars face intensified repression and systematic human rights abuses compared to the period before occupation. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and especially during the ongoing occupation, Crimean Tatars have been subjected to widespread persecution, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, restrictions on cultural and religious freedoms, and suppression of their representative body, the Mejlis.
“Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine. No one under any circumstances has the right to decide Crimea’s fate except the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people,” Chubarov states.
Earlier, the Mejlis declared that any formal negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine must include the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, according to UkrInform.
The Mejlis emphasized that since the start of Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Tatar people consistently opposed Russia’s annexation attempts and supported Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Commenting on proposals suggesting Ukraine should accept the de facto occupation of Crimea and other territories, the Mejlis warned that any territorial concessions to Russia would not bring lasting peace but would instead fuel future military and political conflicts.
