The UN Security Council calls on Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine Friday, March 16, 2018 3:00:04 PM

On March 15th, at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the annexed Crimea, representatives of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and other countries called on Russia to return the Crimea to Ukraine and confirmed that sanctions imposed on Russia would not be lifted while the peninsula remains under Russian control. The event was broadcast on the United Nations website.

The representative of Great Britain to the United Nations recalled the repression of the Crimean Tatar people and representatives of other peoples.

"Anyone who opposes annexation can be accused of extremism and receive a real prison term. As a result, people are fleeing the peninsula," the representative said. He reminded members about Crimeans such as Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Ruslan Zeytullaev, Nuri Primov, and others, and urged the Russian authorities "to release them immediately."

"We must find new ways to resist the annexation. The annexation of the Crimea is just one example of Russia's reckless behavior and violations of international law," the UK representative to the UN said.

The representative of the Netherlands stated that the situation in the Crimea "cannot be perceived as a new norm" and that this is "an unacceptable violation of international law."

He also asked UN member states to support the annual UN General Assembly's resolution on human rights violations in the Crimea and not to recognize the annexation of the peninsula, and for Russia to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.

The US representative urged Russia to stop the annexation of the Crimea and their support for the armed conflict in the Donbas.

"It's up to Russia to decide. It began the conflict in Ukraine and now must stop ... The choice is yours," the US representative to the UN said, while confirming that the sanctions will not be lifted from Russia until this country returns the Crimea to Ukraine's control.

The United Nations Security Council held a meeting on March 15th regarding the situation in the annexed Crimea.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Olena Zerkal, stated at the meeting that as a result of a four-year violent campaign of coercion and violence, anyone who opposes the annexation of Crimea can become a victim on the peninsula.

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