Commander of the German Naval Forces Kai-Achim Schönbach said that Ukraine would never return the Crimean peninsula occupied by the Russian Federation.The Foreign Ministry condemns the statements of the commander of the German Navy regarding the occupied Crimea / photo from UNIAN

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemns the statements of the Commander of the German Naval Forces Kai-Achim Schönbach regarding the Russian-occupied Crimea.

Oleg Nikolenko, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said this in a commentary to an UNIAN correspondent.

The spokesman said that the Foreign Ministry considers Schönbach’s statements categorically unacceptable.

“The Crimean peninsula can only be lost in the imagination of the German vice admiral. Crimea will certainly return thanks to the persistent efforts of Ukraine and its partners, who will show determination in countering the aggressor state. In this regard, it requires clarification from the German government how the words of the commander of the Navy correlate with Germany’s consistent support for the Crimean platform,” Nikolenko stressed.

“We were especially surprised to hear Mr. Schönbach’s sentiments about the need to resume dialogue with Russia at a time when the number of victims of Russian aggression has already exceeded 14 thousand, and more than 100 thousand Russian army lined up along the Ukrainian state border, people continue to die from Russian bullets in the Donbas , and Crimea has become a human rights ghetto and an aircraft carrier armed to the teeth, posing a threat to the entire Black Sea region,” Nikolenko said.

He recalled that in Germany, Russian special services are destroying political opponents of the Russian Federation, conducting disinformation campaigns and trying to interfere in internal affairs.

According to the speaker, “even an attempt to understand Putin by the commander of the German Navy” must have its limits.

“In this case, these boundaries are grossly violated,” Nikolenko said.

The Foreign Ministry demands a public refutation of the German government’s statements by the commander of the Navy, which devalue the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and undermine efforts to de-escalate the situation in Europe.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba also reacted to the incident.

“Germany’s recent statements about the impossibility of transferring defense weapons to Ukraine, in particular due to granting permission to third parties, the futility of the return of Crimea, hesitation on disconnecting the Russian Federation from SWIFT – do not correspond to the level of our relations and the current security situation,” he wrote on Twitter . .

“Now more than ever, the unity of the West in relation to Russia is important. To achieve it and contain the Russian Federation, we are all making great efforts together. German partners must stop undermining unity with such words and actions and encourage Vladimir Putin to launch a new attack on Ukraine,” Kuleba stressed. “Ukraine is grateful to Germany for the support it has already provided since 2014, as well as for the diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. But Germany’s current statements are disappointing and run counter to this support and efforts.”

As UNIAN reported earlier, during a conference of the Indian Institute of Defense Studies, the commander of the German Navy, Schönbach, said that Ukraine would never return the Russian-occupied Crimea .

At the same time, Schönbach noted that although Russia is “necessary” for Germany, Berlin does not agree with the Kremlin’s policy.

“Russia is an old country, Russia is an important country… We need Russia. It is a big country, but this country is not a democracy, in our opinion… Of course, we cannot agree with what Russia is doing, both in Chechnya and elsewhere, the situation in which must be resolved. And yes, this also applies to what happened in Ukraine. The Crimean peninsula is lost. It will never return. This is a fact. And we must understand that political issues are factual issues,” he said.

(C)UNIAN 2022