United Nations Security Council - Dare2Compete

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Background Guide | Page 1 of 14

United Nations Security Council Agenda – Annexation of Crimea

2021

Chair – Nakshatra G Vice-Chair – Sahana P B

Moderator –

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LETTER FROM THE EB

Greetings delegates!

We are glad to welcome you to the United Nations Security Council (hereby referred to as UNSC) at NITKMUN 2021. We, Nakshatra Gopi and Sahana Praveen Bhandari, shall be serving as your chairpersons at this conference.

Despite all the seriousness and pressure you might have to handle being a member of this council, we assure you that your conference will be very enjoyable. Being passionate MUNers, we expect active participation from all delegates and also hope to arrive at proper conclusions with solutions for the future.

Do note that this guide shall in no way serve as your only source of research and preparations, but merely a starting point. This Background Guide is a mere summary of the topic area and should be used as a platform to facilitate further research so as to expand your knowledge base. A better and more holistic understanding of the Agenda would give you an edge over other delegates.

We hope to see you to bring your most creative ideas to the conference, and for some intricate debate. Similarly, it is our sincere wish that each of you take something positive back from these few days we spend together.

We are looking forward to meeting you on the XXth and XXth of XXmonthXX at NITKMUN 2021.We wish you the best of luck.

Regards, The Executive Board, United Nations Security Council, NITK MUN.

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What is UNSC?

The Security Council is one of the six main organs of the United Nations. The Council is the primary body responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

The Council consists of 15 member nations, out of which 10 are elected by the General Assembly for a two-year-period. There are five other permanent member nations (USA, UK, French Republic, People’s Republic of China, and the Russian Federation) who possess veto powers.

While other organs of the United Nations can only make recommendations to member states, the Security Council has the power to make decisions that member states are then obligated to implement under the Charter.

Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:

to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;

to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;

to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;

to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;

to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;

to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;

to take military action against an aggressor;

to recommend the admission of new Members;

to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas";

to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

Veto Powers

The five permanent member nations of the Security Council (namely USA, UK, France, China, and Russia) have the right to veto a resolution. Veto powers enable any of the permanent members to reject a resolution, despite the majority being in its favour.

In the course of the conference, the five permanent member nations may exercise their veto, provided they have a valid and justifiable reason to do so.

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Topic Overview

In November 2013, President Viktor Yanukovych suspended talks for a political and trade agreement with the European Union (EU) in the face of Russian opposition. As a result, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Ukraine’s capital city of Kiev. The protests underscored the divide between Yanukovych’s political base in the pro-Russian east of Ukraine and pro-European supporters in the west of the country. Following an armed conflict in February 2014 that indiscriminately injured many, President Yanukovych reportedly fled the country. A new transition government that showed a firm pro-Ukrainian stance was organised and received support from other nations. As the conflict escalated, Russian military troops annexed Crimea and intervened in eastern Ukraine to “protect the rights of the Russians there”.

This deepened Ukrainians’ historical ethnic divisions, and in May 2014, pro-Russian forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the country declared independence from Ukraine. Following the presidential elections in Ukraine, the new President signed the EU Association Agreement that Yanukovych refused to back in 2013, and declared that Ukraine’s resolve to increase political and economic ties with the EU would continue.

After weeks of fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russians separatist groups, in July 2014 a Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down by a missile in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people. This sparked international outrage. Months after that attack, Donetsk International Airport fell into rebel hands, establishing rebel control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. By March 2016, the United Nations reported that nearly 9,500 people had been killed and more than 22,100 injured, including Ukrainian military forces, members of rebel groups, and civilians. Since then, fighting has continued in eastern Ukraine at varying intensities with both sides nominally adhering to an unsteady ceasefire.

History of Conflict

The Ukraine-Russia relations have always been topsy-turvy. Primarily being a part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine’s separation into a new and independent nation has not been completely welcomed by all Soviets. Russia has never been able to completely let go of Ukraine, resulting in strained relations between these two nations in some form or the other. There are a series of events taking place between these two nations, the most recent of which was the long standing session at the International Court of Justice.

The peninsula had been an independent state under the Ottoman Empire until it was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783. It stayed a part of Russia through the Bolshevik revolution and the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Crimea ASSR) was a part of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1954, the region was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic as the Crimean Oblast. It remained with the Ukraine SSR until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. After the fall of the USSR, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea remained a part of the new Ukraine. However, the region still had an ethnic Russian majority.

On 24 August 1991, Ukraine proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union. However, over the last decade, the Russian government has been adopting a Soviet-style policy aimed at restoring Russian dominance over its neighbours, with Ukraine becoming the target of an escalating campaign of Russian interference and

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aggression. Following the Orange Revolution of 2004, Ukraine has been subjected to increasing degrees of Russian pressure and intimidation.

Ukraine’s foreign policy objective of forging closer ties to the European Union has been a particular source of Russian ire. With Ukraine prepared to sign a landmark Association Agreement with the European Union in 2013, the Russian Federation lashed out imposed punitive unilateral trade restrictions, attempting even withholding gas supplied during the harsh winter season, and calling its territorial integrity into question. When Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych yielded to this extreme pressure, citizens took to the streets en masse. In response, President Yanukovych suppression of the protests resulted in the murder of more than 100 unarmed demonstrators in and around “Independence Square.” The Russian Federation sought to prop up Yanukovych through the provision of financial and other support, including the supply of assault equipment that was used against the protesters. However Yanukovych’s support evaporated, and he abandoned his post and fled to Russian territory.

Russia has escalated its interference; in eastern Ukraine it instigated and sustained an armed insurrection, including a systemic supply to illegal armed groups with heavy weaponry, money, personnel, training, and other support.

That assistance has apparently been used not only to support combat against the Ukrainian authorities, but to conduct terrorist attacks, including the supposed shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, with 298 civilians on board. A densely populated residential area in the port city of Mariupol was targeted for bombardment. A passenger bus carrying civilians was shelled near Volnovakha. A peaceful rally in Kharkiv was bombed.

Russia also seized Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, a part of Ukraine’s sovereign territory. A “referendum,” the legality of which is debatable, was implement amid a climate of violence and intimidation against non-Russian ethnic groups.

Ukraine claimed that with the groundwork laid by this referendum, the Russian Federation proceeded to implement a policy of harassment and suppression of communities it deemed to be opponents of the regime, leading to a campaign to erase the distinct cultures of ethnic Ukrainian and Tatar people in Crimea. The leaders and institutions of these communities have been persecuted and many of their leaders have been forced into exile outside Crimea. These communities have faced abductions, murders, and arbitrary searches and detentions and suppression of their languages. This has allegedly resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and the displacement of many people.

International and Regional Framework

Russia has violated the following international laws due to its annexation of Crimea:

Non-intervention provisions in the United Nations Charter;

Helsinki Final Act of 1975;

1990 Paris Charter;

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1997 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Russia and Ukraine;

1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances;

International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (alleged)

International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (alleged and proven at the ICJ in 2017)

The Russian–Ukrainian Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet signed in 1997 and prolonged in 2010, determined the status of the military bases and vessels in Crimea prior to the crisis. Russia was allowed to maintain up to 25,000 troops, 24 artillery systems (with a caliber smaller than 100 mm), 132 armored vehicles, and 22 military planes, on military bases in Sevastopol and related infrastructure on the Crimean Peninsula. The Russian Black Sea fleet had basing rights in Crimea until 2042. Usage of navigation stations and troop movements were improperly covered by the treaty and were violated many times as well as related court decisions. February's troop movements were allegedly in "complete disregard" of the treaty.

Both nations have also signed the Charter of the United Nations, which outline the basis of aspects which include but are not limited to international law, declarations of independence and sovereignty. Russia, United States, United Kingdom and Ukraine also signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, by which all these countries reaffirmed their obligation to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine (including Crimea) and to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.

On March 11, 2014 the Supreme Council of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopted a joint resolution to declare the independence of the Republic of Crimea in the event of a Yes vote in the Crimean referendum to be held on March 16 which resulted in an overwhelming result for Yes. This declaration has however received international condemnation. On 27 March, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution, which declared the Crimean referendum and subsequent status change invalid.

Following months of armed conflict in Ukraine, the Minsk Protocol (Minsk I) was signed in September 2014 that called for an immediate ceasefire. However, this ceasefire collapsed by December. Thus in February 2015,the ‘Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements’ (Minsk II) was signed, offering a comprehensive roadmap for resolving the conflict. Minsk II established a 13-point plan that encompassed the following actions: immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons to be monitored by the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe); safe access, storage, distribution, and delivery of humanitarian aid; local elections; pardon and amnesty for fighters; and an “all for all” hostage release and exchange plan. Minsk II also called for full socio-economic reintegration of the rebel-held territories, restoration of state border control to the Ukrainian government, withdraw of all “foreign armed formations” from Ukrainian territory, and constitutional reform in Ukraine. However, after seven years of ongoing conflict, the Minsk Agreements have failed to produce any significant results.

https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/UA_140905_MinskCeasfire_en.pdf

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Factors Leading to the Crimean Annexation

Crimea’s Significance to Russia

Following victory over the Ottoman Empire in 1783, the Crimean peninsula officially became part of the Russian Empire. Since then, Crimea’s sea ports became the home of the Russian Black Sea fleet and the peninsula was immediately regarded as the strategically important outpost of Russian Navy. The peninsula was also the site of 1853 Crimean War in which the Russian Empire fought against Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire.

Furthermore, after withstanding the German Nazi forces during the Second World War, Savastopol, the chief seaport of the Russian Black Sea Navy, was firmly established as a hub symbolizing heroic military glories and tragedies. Thus, Crimea has a special part in the Russian imagination. When considering Russian control over Crimea up till 1958, Russia believes that annexing Crimea is the same as returning the peninsula to its rightful home.

Crimea’s Russian Heritage

The ethnically major Russians felt alienated when Crimea was made a part of Ukraine during following Ukraine’s independence in 1991. In fact, when Ukraine held its national referendum on the country’s independence in December 1991, Crimea registered the lowest rates of approval in the entire country. Misguided attempts at ‘Ukrainization’ of Crimea and threats to expel the Russian Black Sea fleet from the peninsula shattered any sense of the republic’s belonging to Ukraine and further estranged ethnic Russians. Albeit illegal, experts suggest that the decision of the Crimean authorities to secede from Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation is not at all surprising.

Which is why on March 16th 2014, when Russia hastily organized a referendum to decide the fate of Crimea, the overwhelming majority of Crimea’s residents voted in favour of secession from Ukraine and admission into the Russian Federation.

International Intervention

The West and the US in particular played an instrumental role behind the scenes following the anti-government protests in Kiev.

Multiple heads of states from the European Union (EU), as well as various diplomats from the US showed tremendous support to the Russian antagonists and protesters. The phone conversation between Ambassador Pyatt and Assistant Secretary Nuland that was leaked short after seemed to prove to Russia that a

US intervention in the Ukrainian transition post-Yanukovych rule was inevitable.

Policies Proposed by the Newly Organized Government in Kiev

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Following the decision to depose Yanukovych, acts of indiscriminate violence against protesters sparked public outrage to the point where the EU had to intervene with an “Agreement on the Settlement of Crisis in Ukraine” signed by the Government and the Opposition. This agreement was immediately violated by the Opposition with alleged US support.

Succeeding this was a change in the national language policy, which stripped the Russian language’s status as a national language. This was ill received by the ethnic Russians in Crimea.

In conclusion, while Russia’s annexation of Crimea is in violation of several international laws and is thus condemned, it is important to question the intentions of the country in doing so.

Timeline of Events

Pre-2000 – https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38ec2.html

The crisis began in November when Ukraine’s then president, Viktor Yanukovich, under Russian pressure, turned his back on a trade deal with the EU and accepted a $15 billion bailout from Moscow. That prompted three months of street protests, leading to the overthrow of Yanukovich on February 22.

Moscow denounced the events as an illegitimate coup and refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities. In late February, Russian troops seized the Crimean peninsula in a bloodless military takeover.

2013

Nov 21: Kiev suddenly announces suspension of trade and association talks with the EU and opts to revive economic ties with Moscow.

Several hundred Ukrainians gather on the capital’s central Independence Square to protest.

Nov 22: Jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko urges Ukrainians to protest against the switch away from the EU.

Nov 24: Some 100,000 people rally in Kiev against spurning the EU.

Nov 25: Ukrainian police fire tear gas at demonstrators.

Nov 29: At the EU summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Yanukovich fails to sign the association agreement.

https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38ec2.html

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Nov 30: Riot police try to break up the Kiev demonstration by force. Protest turns against Yanukovich and his government.

Dec 1: Some 350,000 people protest in Kiev and clash with police. Crowds turn Independence Square into a protest tent city. Opposition leaders call on Yanukovich to resign.

Dec 4: Senior EU officials and ministers start visiting the protest square.

Dec 6: Yanukovich holds previously unannounced talks in Sochi with Putin on “strategic partnership”.

Dec 8: Some 800,000 people rally in Kiev. A statue of Lenin is toppled.

Dec 13: Yanukovich’s first face-to-face talks with opposition bring no breakthrough in crisis.

Dec 15: EU suspends talks with Ukraine on the pact. Some 200,000 people rally in Kiev.

Dec 17: Yanukovich and Putin meet for second time since crisis began. Putin agrees to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian debt and to slash by a third the price of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine.

Dec 18: Tens of thousands of protesters gather in Kiev, calling for Yanukovich to resign over bailout.

Dec 20: About 100,000 take to square in central Kiev, opposition forms bloc called Maidan.

Dec 24: Ukraine receives first $3 billion tranche of Russian bailout.

2014

Jan 12: At least 50,000 protesters march in Kiev, reviving the movement after a Christmas and New Year lull.

Jan 15: Ukraine court bans protests in central Kiev.

Jan 17: Yanukovich signs new laws banning anti-government protests.

Jan 19: Thousands protest in Kiev defying ban, some clashing with riot police.

Jan 22: Three people die during protests and EU threatens action over handling of crisis. Talks between opposition and Yanukovich fail.

Jan 23: Washington threatens sanctions if violence continues.

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Jan 26: Police clash with protesters in Kiev. Unrest spreads to traditionally pro-Yanukovich east. Yanukovich offers important government posts to opposition, who say they will press for more concessions, including early elections.

Jan 27: Yanukovich and opposition agree to scrap some of the anti-protest laws. Protesters try to storm Kiev cultural centre.

Jan 28: Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigns. Deputies loyal to Yanukovich overturn anti-protest laws in a bid to restore calm.

Jan 30: Yanukovich goes on sick leave, announcing that he is suffering from an acute respiratory ailment.

Jan 31: Still on sick leave, Yanukovich signs into law a conditional amnesty for those detained in the unrest.

Feb 2: Yanukovich returns to work after four days’ sick leave, protesters fill Kiev’s main square.

Feb 7: Moscow accuses the United States of trying to foment a coup in Ukraine. Washington says Russia leaked a recording of U.S. diplomats discussing how to shape a new government in Kiev.

Feb 9: Pressure on Yanukovich grows as protests against him continue and Russia links disbursement of next tranche of a $15 billion aid package to repayment of hefty gas bill.

Feb 14: Russia accuses EU of seeking Ukraine “sphere of influence”. Protesters released under amnesty but streets still tense.

Feb 17: Russia boosts Yanukovich with $2 billion fresh cash injection to Ukraine.

Feb 18: At least 14 people die as protesters clash with police in worst violence since demonstrations began.

Feb 19: West threatens sanctions after death toll rises to 26. Yanukovich denounces bloodshed as an attempted coup.

Feb 20: At least 39 die in clashes in Kiev. Foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland meet with Yanukovich, extend stay to put a political roadmap to opposition leaders.

Feb 21: Opposition leaders sign EU-mediated peace pact Yanukovich to end violence that killed at least 77 people.

Feb 22: Ukraine’s parliament votes to remove Yanukovich, who flees his Kiev office, denouncing what he says is a coup. His archrival Yulia Tymoshenko is released from jail.

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Feb 24: Fugitive Yanukovich indicted for “mass murder” over demonstrator deaths. Moscow says it will not deal with leaders of “armed mutiny” against Yanukovich.

Feb 26: Ukraine names ministers for new government. Angry Russia puts 150,000 troops on high alert. Washington warns Moscow against military intervention.

Feb 27: Armed men seize Crimea parliament, raise Russian flag. Kiev’s new rulers warn Moscow to keep troops within its naval base on the peninsula. Hryvnia falls to record low.

Feb 28: Armed men take control of two airports in Crimea, described by Ukrainian minister as invasion by Moscow’s forces. Ousted Yanukovich surfaces in Russia after a week on the run.

March 1: Putin wins parliamentary approval to invade Ukraine. In Kiev, new government warns of war, puts troops on high alert and appeals to NATO for help. White House warns Russia of economic, political isolation. Russian forces fan out in Crimea. Pro-Moscow demonstrations erupt across Ukraine’s south and east in what Kiev calls an attempt to repeat Crimea scenario.

March 2: Russian forces tighten grip on Crimea. Ukraine announces call-up of reserves. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemns Russia for “incredible act of aggression”, threatening “very serious repercussions”.

March 3: Markets open for first time since Kremlin announcement of right to invade. Russian share prices and ruble plummet.

March 4: Putin announces end to war games in Western Russia, orders troops near frontier back to barracks. Ukraine says Russian navy has blocked strait between Crimea and Russia. Putin says military force in Ukraine would only be “last resort”. Kerry in Kiev. U.S. official says Washington working on sanctions against Russia.

March 5: Russia rebuffs calls to withdraw troops from Crimea, saying “self-defense” forces are not under its command. European Union pledges 11 billion euros in aid to Kiev.

March 6: Crimea’s pro-Russian leadership votes to join Russia and sets referendum for March 16, escalating crisis. U.S. President Barack Obama says referendum would violate international law and orders sanctions on those responsible for Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine.

EU leaders hold an emergency summit to try to find ways to pressure Russia to back down and accept mediation. Military monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe barred from entering Crimea.

March 7: After hour-long phone call with Obama, Putin says they are still far apart.

March 8: Warning shots are fired to prevent an unarmed international military observer mission from entering Crimea. Russian forces become increasingly aggressive towards Ukrainian troops trapped in bases.

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Current Scenario

The human rights situation in Russia-occupied Crimea has been called out multiple times following the annexation of the territory. Crimea has been cut off from the rest of the world and it is widely claimed that it has been converted into a police state. Free press has been short-changed, minorities are being discriminated against, and apparently ordinary citizens are being encouraged to “spy on their neighbours and families”. The question of whether international monitoring of human rights has taken place annually in Crimea has gone unanswered. As per reports from the OSCE, their observer team was prevented from getting to Crimea at gunpoint.

Many nations including the USA and most of Europe believe that the Crimean annexation is simply the starting point for Russia’s plan to advance their military and take over other territory.

Conclusion

What started as a dispute over a trade agreement turned into violence in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatist groups and government military forces and has now escalated into an international crisis. While the situation at Crimea seems to be a territorial conflict between two neighboring nations, the various activities ongoing in the background makes it a highly sensitive issue of international concern.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict is particularly ominous because tensions with the United States could escalate into a nuclear war. For this reason, it is necessary to understand NATO’s role, patterns of US domination and the nuclear arms race. The political world is dangerously in flux, with entangled military and economic alliances and a robust weapons trade. This is similar to the prelude to the First World War when it took just one trigger to unleash cascading inter-state violence.

Countries of Interest

1. Russian Federation

The Russian president Vladmir Putin said on 4 March that Russia was not considering annexing Crimea. He said of the peninsula that "only citizens themselves, in conditions of free expression of will and their security can determine their future.” He later acknowledged that he had ordered "work to bring Crimea back into Russia" as early as February.

The Russian PM declared that Crimea was “fully integrated” into Russia as a part of the Crimean Federal District. Crimea now uses Moscow Time and has adopted the Russian ruble as its currency. As of 28 December 2018, Russia completed a high-tech security fence marking the de facto border between Crimea and Ukraine.

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2. Ukraine

Immediately after the treaty of accession was signed in March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Provisional Principal of Russia in Ukraine to present note verbale of protest against Russia's recognition of the Republic of Crimea and its subsequent annexation. Two days later, the Ukrainian Parliament condemned the treaty and called Russia's actions "a gross violation of international law". It called on the international community to avoid recognition of the "so-called Republic of Crimea" or the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia as new federal subjects.

Ukraine later started a boycott of Russian goods and services in form of protest against the annexation. In December 2014, Ukraine halted all train and bus services to Crimea .In 16 September 2015 the Ukrainian parliament voted for the law that sets 20 February 2014 as the official date of the Russian temporary occupation of Crimean peninsula. On 7 October 2015 the President of Ukraine signed the law into force.

3. United States of America

The United States has played a major role in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, albeit a background one, and the extent of which remains unknown. The United States has condemned Russia’s actions repeatedly since the onset of the issue. Former Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the annexation was an “incredible act of aggression," and said that "you just don't in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext."

Many political leaders have given aid to anti-Russian groups in Ukraine and there have been various proposals to launch a military intervention in the region.

4. European Union

The European Commission decided on 11 March to enter into a full free-trade agreement with Ukraine within the year. On 12 March, the European Parliament rejected the upcoming referendum on independence in Crimea, which they saw as manipulated and contrary to international and Ukrainian law.

The European Union spearheaded by France and other nations have repeatedly called for ceasefires in attempts to stop the conflict between Ukraine, Russia and third-party rebels. Both the Minsk Agreements were proposed by the EU and its member nations have played a key role in mediating the issue.

5. People’s Republic of China

On March 2, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang stated that China condemned the recent extremist violence in the country and urged all parties to resolve their internal disputes peacefully. China has always followed the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, and respected Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He urged all sides to find a solution through dialogue on the basis of international law and the norms governing international relations. On March 4, China's president Xi Jinping, in a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, expressed his confidence in Putin's ability to reach a political solution through

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negotiations with all involved parties. He stated that China supports the propositions and mediation efforts of the international community towards easing the situation. On 21 November, the acting director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's European-Central Asian Affairs department, Gui Congyou, told Russian media: "We are against any nationality gaining independence through referendums. As far as Crimea is concerned, it has very special features. We know well the history of Crimea's affiliation…China reacts with full understanding to the challenges and threats Russia has faced in connection with the Ukrainian issue and supports Moscow's approach to its settlement."

6. Turkey

Turkey is the largest country on the Black Sea after Russia and Ukraine. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu stated on 28 February that "Turkey attaches importance to democracy and democracy-based political stability in Ukraine's future" and that "Crimea is important for Turkey as it is Turkey's door to Ukraine and it is also important for our Tatar compatriots." Turkish President Abdullah Gül stated on 5 March that the problems must be solved within international law and with respect to Ukraine's political union and borders. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "Unfortunately, throughout history, the right of the Crimean Tatar people to live in dignity in their own homeland was undermined with collective deportations and repression. Today we are witnessing the illegal annexation of the Crimea and other regrettable events," after meeting with Crimean leaders, International Business Times reported Monday, August 3.

Questions A Resolution Must Answer (QARMA)

1. Owing to its strategic location and economical significance, what should be Sevastapool’s status of governance?

2. Is implementing the Minsk II Protocol still feasible? What amendments can be made to it to reduce the scope of the conflict?

3. Questioning US and NATO intervention in this issue.

4. Does the Crimean Annexation mark the beginning of Russia’s military advancement to claim more territory?

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