The Crimean theme always was of key importance in the Petro Poroshenko’s political activity, starting from his visit to Simferopol at the very beginning of the annexation and ending with his New Year’s address to the Ukrainian people, when greetings were said in the Crimean Tatar language as well. However, Crimean problematic was almost neglected in the President’s message to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of June 3, 2015 and this fact immediately provoked a lot of questions. But Poroshenko put the things right at the press conference that took place after the address to the deputies.
Petro Poroshenko is, perhaps, the only Maydan politician, who was not afraid to arrive in Crimea on February 28, 2014, when the buildings of the Supreme Council and Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea have been already captured by “men in green”. He came for the purpose of trying to negotiate with the authorities of the autonomy, but radical armed “defenders” didn’t allow Petro Alekseevich to enter the building of the Crimean parliament while hooting him and forced to leave the center of the Crimean capital being accompanied by the police and loud cries of “Get out of Crimea”. At that moment Poroshenko said the phrase that will be the key one for all his further speeches: “Crimea is the Ukrainian territory and Ukrainian laws act and will act here.”
The candidate for presidency Petro Poroshenko paid special attention to the annexed peninsula twice in his election program. The first time was when he defined “the political and diplomatic struggle for the return of temporary occupied Crimea” as future priorities of his work. The second one was when he said that the most important task for him as a president would be the observance of rights of all national minorities, in particular “Crimean Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars as the indigenous people of Crimea”.
Crimean problematic sounded more impressively in the inaugural speech of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, which the audience gave a standing ovation to, on June 7, 2014. The fifth President of Ukraine started his speech with the address to own nationals from “Lviv to Donetsk, from Chernihiv to Sevastopol”. Then Poroshenko professionally highlighted key points within the context of the Russian occupation of Crimea and assured the people’s deputies that “Crimea was, is and will be Ukrainian”. And he being the president of Ukraine is not going to accept any bargaining. “Yesterday during the meeting in Normandy I said the same words to the President Putin – Crimea is Ukrainian. And that’s that. We can’t make any compromise concerning Crimea, the European choice and the state structure,” Poroshenko emphasized.
However, later the Crimean rhetoric of the Ukrainian president declined. It is reasonable to some extent – the issues of the war in the Donbass that every day took lives of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians came to the forefront.
Petro Poroshenko touched the Crimean topics at the press conference on December 29, 2014, where two key points regarding the peninsula were voiced, once again. The first one was related to the transportation situation, when the president categorically stated in answer to the journalists’ questions that “there is no blockade of Crimea”. The second point repeated, in fact, the ideas of the inaugural speech that there was not and could not be any compromises on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. But this passage related not only to Crimea, but, of course, Donbass as well.
The final chord of 2014 was the New Year’s address of the President of Ukraine, when he said the greetings in the Crimean Tatar language as well.
Later Crimean problematic was present in the speeches of the Ukrainian president less frequently. The word “Crimea” was used only twice and in the context of general phrases in the Annual Message to the Verkhovna Rada that Petro Poroshenko addressed to the people’s deputies on June 3, 2015. In particular, while recalling the events of February 2014, Poroshenko speaks about the annexation of Crimea, the war in the Donbass and Putin’s plans to split up Ukraine. The second point in the president’s speech touched the tasks for the Ukrainian diplomacy, the efforts of which should be directed to “continue preventing the lifting of sanctions against the aggressor until the situation in the Donbass is resolved and Crimea is returned.”
The easiest way to explain the “coolness” to the Crimean problematic from the President is the fact that his message to the people’s deputies is a kind of a report on his work within the year. But, on the other hand, it is also future plans directly connected with the expectations of citizens. The president announced many tasks, which are important for the country, ranging from fighting corruption to learning the English language. These tasks didn’t touch only Crimea: there was no word about de-occupation and reintegration.
However, Petro Poroshenko regained his reputation the next day after the press conference and, anticipating the questions of journalists, assured those present that the Crimean issue wasn’t included in the message to the Rada only for tactical reasons, since it is impossible to return the peninsula within the next year.
“If I didn’t dwell on the problem of returning Crimea in detail, it means only that this task is the most difficult one. And, unfortunately, it is beyond the calendar period of the message. The prospects of the message are 12 months, but we will do everything possible to return Crimea to Ukraine every day and every minute,” Poroshenko said and promised to present the strategy for returning the peninsula in the near future. Besides the traditional support from the international community, there were legal claims ranging from “the Maritime Arbitration to the Hague court”, a sanctions package against those who support the annexation and almost total availability of the strategy for returning the peninsula. “Crimea is still our first priority,” the president emphasized while asking the Crimeans to hold on.
Of course, Crimeans will continue to hold on if they hear not stock phrases such as “Crimea is Ukraine”, but clear answers to questions about who, when and how will implement the scenario of de-occupation of the peninsula from the president, the prime minister and the people’s deputies. Time for promises is running out little by little and it should be replaced by the time for actions.
