Chief of German Navy Believes Crimea Will Never Come Back to Ukraine

The head of the German navy, Vice Adm. Kay-Achim Schonbach, expressed his belief that Crimea would never return to Ukraine despite Kiev’s attempts to put pressure on Moscow.

“The Crimea is gone, and it will never come back”, Schonbach said at a conference hosted by India’s Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on Friday.

Speaking of the countries that want to be part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the vice-admiral noted that Georgia meets the criteria for joining the alliance, but its membership would be “illogical”, given the consequences it may have in relations with Moscow.

In this regard, Schonbach said that India and Germany need Russia to confront the growing influence of China.

Crimea became a part of Russia in a referendum held in March 2014 in which nearly 96% of Crimeans voted to rejoin Russia. Kiev claims that Crimea is a Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that the decision made by the Crimean people was conducted in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Crimean issue is closed, and not up for debate.