39% of Germans do not recognize Crimea as Russian territory, only 48% of the German population disagree with them, according to Infratest dimap, Deutsche Welle reports. People were questioned for Gunther Jauch’s show on ARD TV. Experts asked 1,000 people aged over 14. According to RIA Novosti, 54% of Germans consider Russian foreign policy to be a threat, 43% express no worries. Matthias Platzeck, the head of the German-Russian forum, proposed recognition of Crimea as Russian territory. Platzeck’s statement became a subject of heavy lashing from critics, with Chancellor Angela Merkel being one of them.
Professor Jorg Baberowski of Humboldt University assumes that “the majority of the population of the Crimean peninsula wanted to join Russia. In the early 1990s, there were several referendums about the same thing, where the population expressed its will quite explicitly. So recognition of this as a reality could have been a first step in the West. International law is great, but we will obviously need to put up with the situation and continue work. It may become a good foundation for further discussions.”
Baberowski reminded about Ukrainian refugees, who are neglected in the West: “A huge amount of people fled from the east of Ukraine to Russia, not to Western Ukraine, not to Western countries! They were citizens of Ukraine… The conflict was in Ukraine, the conflict has now formed around Ukraine. Obviously, Western governments are taking the lead. They need to sit behind the negotiating table, behind which the Ukrainian government should appear. Western governments need to take the first steps without any additional preconditions, without additional exacerbation of the conflict.”
Bogdan Bezpalko, deputy director of the MSU Center for Ukrainian and Belarusian Studies, claims that he reflects the opinion of the majority of the peninsula: “I can recall the referendums on the Falkland Islands that were held after the war between Britain and Argentina and forced recognition of the islands as part of the British Commonwealth. The territory some countries have recognized as the independent state of Kosovo was separated after many years of war, after the aggression of the NATO military and political bloc against Yugoslavia, and the referendum that was held there was quite dubious, if it even took place.”
According to Bezpalko, “The unitary Ukraine that represented the interests of ethnic, social, national, political groups could have held referendums to protect the rights of these communities long ago. Nonetheless, throughout the independence of Ukraine, there has not been a single referendum on any qualitative issues reflecting the interests of these communities. As a result, that was what caused the separation of Crimea, its transition to Russia and the civil war in Donbas.”
Jorg Baberowski: “The majority of the population of the Crimean Peninsula wanted to join Russia”48% of Germans do not recognize Crimea as Russian territory, only 39% of the German population disagree with them, according to Infratest dimap, Deutsche Welle reports. People were questioned for Gunther Jauch’s show on ARD TV. Experts asked 1,000 people aged over 14. According to RIA Novosti, 54% of Germans consider Russian foreign policy to be a threat, 43% express no worries. Matthias Platzeck, the head of the German-Russian forum, proposed recognition of Crimea as Russian territory. Platzeck’s statement became a subject of heavy lashing from critics, with Chancellor Angela Merkel being one of them.Professor Jorg Baberowski of Humboldt University assumes that “the majority of the population of the Crimean peninsula wanted to join Russia. In the early 1990s, there were several referendums about the same thing, where the population expressed its will quite explicitly. So recognition of this as a reality could have been a first step in the West. International law is great, but we will obviously need to put up with the situation and continue work. It may become a good foundation for further discussions.”Baberowski reminded about Ukrainian refugees, who are neglected in the West: “A huge amount of people fled from the east of Ukraine to Russia, not to Western Ukraine, not to Western countries! They were citizens of Ukraine… The conflict was in Ukraine, the conflict has now formed around Ukraine. Obviously, Western governments are taking the lead. They need to sit behind the negotiating table, behind which the Ukrainian government should appear. Western governments need to take the first steps without any additional preconditions, without additional exacerbation of the conflict.”Bogdan Bezpalko, deputy director of the MSU Center for Ukrainian and Belarusian Studies, claims that he reflects the opinion of the majority of the peninsula: “I can recall the referendums on the Falkland Islands that were held after the war between Britain and Argentina and forced recognition of the islands as part of the British Commonwealth. The territory some countries have recognized as the independent state of Kosovo was separated after many years of war, after the aggression of the NATO military and political bloc against Yugoslavia, and the referendum that was held there was quite dubious, if it even took place.”According to Bezpalko, “The unitary Ukraine that represented the interests of ethnic, social, national, political groups could have held referendums to protect the rights of these communities long ago. Nonetheless, throughout the independence of Ukraine, there has not been a single referendum on any qualitative issues reflecting the interests of these communities. As a result, that was what caused the separation of Crimea, its transition to Russia and the civil war in Donba
