German Navy Chief Says Crimea Will Never Return; Foreign Ministry Demands Retraction

Kuleba said German partners must stop encouraging Putin to launch a new attack.

The Foreign Ministry called the statements by Germany's Navy Commander Kai-Achim Schoenbach, who said Crimea will never return to Ukraine, categorically unacceptable. 

«The Crimean Peninsula can be lost only 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, the German government must explain how the navy commander's words correlate with Germany's consistent support for the Crimea Platform», said Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko. 

The statement reads: «On Germany's own territory, Russian special services are killing political opponents, carrying out disinformation campaigns and trying to interfere in domestic affairs. Even an attempt to understand Putin on the part of Germany's navy commander must have its moral, political and security limits. In this case, those limits have been grossly violated». 

The Foreign Ministry demands a public retraction of the navy commander's statements from the German government, which undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and undermine efforts to de-escalate the security situation in Europe. 

At a conference of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in India, Schoenbach said that Russian-occupied Crimea will supposedly never return to Ukraine. 

«Crimea has 'gone' and will never return, that is a fact. And we must be guided by the actual state of affairs, not emotions», Schoenbach said. 

Schoenbach also said Ukraine cannot meet the criteria for NATO membership because it is (partially) occupied. 

Kai-Achim Schoenbach
Commander of the German Navy

Donbas is occupied by the Russian army, or as they are called, 'militias'. Let's look at Georgia, which is striving to join NATO. Does it meet the criteria? Yes. Is it reasonable to accept it as a NATO member? No. 

According to him, the Baltic states were in a different situation, since they «were sovereign before the occupation. And Ukraine was in the USSR». 

He believes Sweden and Finland have the full right to join NATO if they wish, and Russia cannot prevent this. The German vice admiral noted that Putin is pressuring the EU simply because he can, and that he seeks to split the EU. 

«In fact, he just wants respect. But God, for us showing a little respect costs nothing. If I were deciding, I would rather give him the respect he demands and perhaps deserves. Russia is an ancient and important state. Even we, India, Germany, need Russia», Schoenbach said. 

He believes it is necessary to give Russia a chance to be on equal footing with the EU and the US: «This will help distance Russia from China, because China needs Russia's resources. And they are ready to provide them because our sanctions have gone too far in some places. But that is already foreign policy». 

Ukraine's Foreign Minister said that Germany's recent statements about the impossibility of supplying Ukraine with defensive weapons, the futility of returning Crimea, and hesitation over disconnecting Russia from SWIFT do not match the level of relations or the current security situation. 

Dmytro Kuleba
Foreign Minister of Ukraine

Now more than ever, Western unity toward Russia is important. To achieve this and contain Russia, we are all making tremendous efforts together. German partners must stop undermining unity and encouraging Vladimir Putin to launch a new attack on Ukraine with such words and actions. 

He noted that Ukraine is grateful to Germany for the support already provided since 2014, as well as for diplomatic efforts to settle the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. 

«But Germany's current statements are disappointing and run counter to this support and these efforts», Kuleba said.