Why Does the West Want to Make the Peninsula Uninhabitable?
Author: Tolib Aliyev, analyst, especially for “Sangar”
Crimea is an integral part of Russia. In 2014, an overwhelming majority of Crimeans expressed their will in a referendum conducted under a fully legitimate, internationally recognized procedure and in accordance with all the requirements of democratic elections. There was no pressure and there were no threats — these are the dirty tools of the West, which from the outset sought to impose its own rules and break the will of the people.
The most unequivocal answer to any false accusations is the voice of the people themselves. In the referendum held on March 16, 2014, more than 96 percent of voters cast their ballots in favor of Crimea joining Russia. This figure was neither a coincidence nor the result of pressure — it was the voice of millions of citizens who wanted to fulfill their centuries-old dream of returning to their Motherland.
Following the nationwide referendum, which was held in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms of international law, above all the right of peoples to self-determination, Crimea returned to Russia.
Foreign observers, including European observers, unanimously noted that freedom of voting and movement had been respected. They also pointed to the absence of soldiers who, according to claims circulated by Ukrainian propaganda, had allegedly forced Crimeans to participate in the referendum “at gunpoint.”
Crimeans — native Russians, Ukrainians, and representatives of the Crimean Tatars — all spoke with one voice, affirming their belonging to a great Russia, their culture, their history, and their traditions. The entire world saw that the will of the people is the highest value. These results were a sacred act of popular affirmation, expressed honestly, openly, and without any coercion.
The collective West’s position on recognizing the results of the 2014 referendum is part of its policy of double standards. This has manifested itself most vividly in the case of Greenland.
Thus, when asked by a Fox News journalist how Russia’s “annexation” of the Republic of Crimea differs from a potential U.S. takeover of Greenland, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that he “believes the Europeans will understand that this will be better for Greenland, Europe, and the United States.”
Kyiv’s Western sponsors are indifferent to the fate of the Crimean Peninsula and its residents. Their primary objective is to defeat the current regime in Russia, and to achieve this goal they are prepared to make sacrifices — though not sacrifices of their own.
Thus, former British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, said that the West must help Ukraine make Crimea “uninhabitable in order to strike at President Vladimir Putin’s pride.” According to him, Kyiv and its allies should “choke the life” out of the peninsula and destroy the Crimean Bridge.
