United States Senator Jim Risch (Republican of Idaho), Ranking Member, US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, asked questions of Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Foreign Relations Hearing to examine the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. Credit: Jabin Botsford / Pool via CNP
Russia will have to return Crimea, regardless of how it will be perceived by Russian society and what consequences it may have for Putin.
This was stated by Republican Jim Risch, a senator of the US Congress, in an interview with "European Pravda" on the sidelines of the Halifax Security Forum, where he arrived at the head of the delegation of the US Congress.
The senator noted that one of the safeguards against nuclear escalation - though he sees it as highly unlikely - should be to create an "exit point" for Putin from war, and he appears to be looking for that option now. After that, EuroPravda noted that Ukraine cannot cede Crimea in any case.
Jim Risch answered that, firstly, only Ukraine will determine what it should agree to, and secondly, allowing Russia, the aggressor country, to still take Crimea would be a violation of the UN Charter and the principles of international law.
EuroPravda noted that the de-occupation of Crimea will inevitably be a reputational blow for Putin inside Russia and a clear signal to society that the war has been lost, so for him, it is a big risk not to hold on to power.
"I don't know how Putin plans to solve this problem. This is a question to ask him. I only know that Crimea is Ukraine… I will not speculate about this [a potential coup as a result of dissatisfaction - ed.], except to emphasize that the war in Ukraine is a one-man war. The fact that it is still going on is not the Russians' decision, but only Putin's. He started this war and he can finish it. Yes, he has problems at home, and he will have to find an explanation for his people. But I hope that he will listen to the voice of logic", answered Rish.
After remarking that it is difficult to call Russia's aggression a one-man war when numerous atrocities were committed by ordinary Russian military personnel, the senator said that he did not deny the responsibility of the whole of Russia for this, but the decision on the aggression was still made by one person - the president of the russian federation.
