MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. The statement on Crimea by German Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach, who was forced to resign as Navy commander, demonstrates that "all is not lost" in the European Union and there are people who can speak about the real state of things, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
"Naturally, we know [about the statement]," he said. "Indeed, these statements are not keeping up with NATO and EU mainstream [ideology - TASS], but the statements mean that all is not lost and there are serious people who are capable of speaking about the reality, trying to figure out the real state of things," he said.
Speaking at a think tank discussion in India, Schoenbach noted that Crimea would never return to Ukraine. "The Crimea peninsula is gone, it will never come back, this is a fact," he said. Moreover, he described allegations about Russia’s plans of aggression against Ukraine as nonsense. The navy chief’s remarks caused anger at the German defense and foreign ministries and the vice admiral tendered his resignation, which was accepted on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Germany’s deputy government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said on Monday that Schoenbach’s remarks about Crimea cannot be seen as the German government’s official position. "The German government distances itself from the navy chief’s statements. It is not the federal government’s position. The German government has a clear position, especially on what concerns Crimea and the observance of international law," she said.
The German defense ministry said that Minister Christine Lambrecht will receive Schoenbach on Monday to discuss the situation.
The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russian, refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities brought to power amid riots during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.
Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which 96.7% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification treaties on March 18, 2014. The documents were ratified by Russia’s Federal Assembly, or bicameral parliament, on March 21.
Despite the overwhelming results of the referendum, Ukraine still refuses to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.