West Will Never Recognize Annexation of Crimea – José Manuel Barroso
The former president of the European Union, José Manuel Barroso, told an audience of more than 350 attendees of the 12th Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting that the West will never recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
During the panel "Ukraine’s East and Crimea: Solving the Unsolvable,” Barroso, who served as president from 2004-2014, expanded on his point, saying “I believe it will take a lot of time to return the peninsula, therefore Ukraine must now concentrate on solving problems in the war torn East, as Europe wants to see Ukraine a democratic and peaceful country.”
He added, "We will never, never accept the annexation of Crimea.”
Another panelist, Gen. David Petraeus (U.S. Army, Retired) and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2011–2012), agreed with Barroso, saying "Indeed, it will take a lot of time if Crimea returns to Ukraine."
Petraeus also said that the United States was concerned about the events in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, but now they are proud of Ukrainian military men because "they are real heroes."
Refat Chubarov, chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and member of the Ukrainian parliament, believes that the return of Crimea should occur soon, because Crimean Tatars live in the peninsula, most of whom are against the Russian occupation in the region, and now they are being threated.
The 12th Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting is streamed live at yes-ukraine.org as well as web-sites of the Media Partners in English and Ukrainian.
The official Twitter of the 12th YES Annual Meeting is @yes_ukraine, and participants and followers can include the hashtag: #YESUkraine2015.
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