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Photo: Stephen Bigoon (flickr.com/fordschool)
US Under Secretary of State Stephen Bigoon raised the issue of the Russian occupation of Crimea during a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council. He promised that Washington would never recognize that Crimea belongs to Russia.
This was reported by the Voice of America television channel.
The representative of the US State Department stressed that the issue of Ukraine must remain first on the OSCE’s agenda, because the Russian aggression caused the death of more than 13,000 Ukrainians. He also recalled the persecution of the Crimean Tatars in the occupied peninsula.
“It is unacceptable that the OSCE SMM faces daily harassment and obstacles mainly in Russian-controlled territories. No one will be fooled by Moscow’s insistence that Ukraine is responsible for the conflict on its own territory,” he said.
In addition, Bigun asked Moscow to fulfill all its obligations to resolve the Donbas.
“The United States calls on Russia to fully comply with its obligations under the Minsk accords. We will never recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea,” he stressed.
We will recall, earlier, that the United States declared that Ukraine should be free from Russian interference and aggression.
In addition, NATO recently pledged to expand its presence in the Black Sea region and increase aid to Ukraine amid the Russian militarization of Crimea.
