Crimea could be placed under UN mandate for "fair referendum" — Polish FM Sikorski

He said this at the 20th annual YES meeting in Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

Sikorski noted that Crimea is “symbolically important” for Russia, but at the same time “strategically important” for Ukraine, so he “does not see how the parties can reach an agreement without demilitarizing Crimea.”

However, the foreign minister believes that if both countries are willing, a solution could be found.

“We could put it under a UN mandate with a mission to prepare a fair referendum after verifying who the legal residents are, and so on... And we could postpone it for 20 years,” Sikorski suggested.

He also called it a major mistake by the West, particularly the United States, to advise Ukrainians against fighting in Crimea. According to him, “If Ukrainians had fought in Crimea, even symbolically, Putin might not have decided to advance into Donbas.”

• At a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, Radoslaw Sikorski said that Poland is considering the possibility of providing Ukraine with additional aircraft, including MIG-29s.