According to the US leader, Washington should allow Kiev to "negotiate from a position of strength"NEW YORK, February 25.
/tass/. US President Joe Biden believes that potential agreements on Ukraine may include a provision on the transition of Crimea and parts of other territories under Kiev's control over time. The American leader outlined this version in an interview with ABC journalists, which aired on Friday.
Speaking about what results of the conflict the United States would consider a "victory," Biden replied: "It depends on what the Ukrainians decide." "We must create conditions for Ukrainians under which they will be able to attack this spring and summer," he added. "We will not dictate to them [Ukrainians] what the final result should be," the American leader argued. In his opinion, the United States should allow Kiev to "negotiate from a position of strength."
Answering a question about whether he believes that Kiev should gain control over Crimea and territories "in the east" following the talks, Biden reiterated that Ukrainians "should decide this." "But I can imagine a situation where there is a transition to this, that it doesn't happen all at once," he added. Biden did not provide additional explanations regarding this.
After the coup d'etat in Ukraine in February 2014, the authorities of Crimea and Sevastopol held a referendum on reunification with Russia. More than 80% of those who had the right to vote took part in it. 96.7% and 95.6% of the voters of Crimea and Sevastopol voted for reunification with the Russian Federation, respectively. On March 18, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement on the admission of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, and on March 21, this document was ratified by the Federal Assembly.
From September 23 to 27 last year, referendums on joining Russia were held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. The overwhelming majority of their residents were in favor of such a step. On September 30 of the same year, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the regions signed agreements on joining Russia. On October 4, 2022, Putin signed laws on ratification of the treaties on the admission of the DPR and LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions into Russia.
