Kremlin: 'Crimean Issue' Does Not Exist, It Cannot Be Discussed

The "Crimean issue" does not exist and it cannot be discussed, the Kremlin spokesman underscored.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Commenting on Kiev's proposal to create a new format for international talks to solve the so-called Crimean issue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Thursday that this issue does not exist and cannot be discussed.

"There is no such thing as the Crimean issue, consequently, it is impossible to discuss the Crimean issue," Peskov told reporters.

Last week, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko proposed establishing a new international mechanism to help Ukraine regain control over the Crimean peninsula. Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia in a March 2014 referendum, with over 96 percent of voters backing the move.

On Thursday, Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko told Reuters that Kiev still did not agree with the secession of Crimea and intended to start thoroughly promoting the process of the peninsula's return to Ukraine in 2016.

The minister said that Kiev was planning to create a dialogue similar to Geneva format talks, including Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States, to negotiate the issue.

A file picture taken on March 16, 2014 shows a Crimean couple kissing as people celebrate in Simferopol's Lenin Square after exit polls showed that about 93 percent of voters in Ukraine's Crimea region supported union with Russia.

© AFP 2023 / DIMITAR DILKOFF