Can U.S. president recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea?

Quote: "This is U.S. policy – to never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation or the separation of any part of Ukrainian territory through the use of military force."

This law was signed in 2017 by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Thus, the U.S. president cannot recognize Crimea as Russian without violating current American legislation. To do so, they would have to change the law itself, which means altering the officially approved U.S. policy. This is a long, complex process with no guarantees of success.

In addition, such a change would automatically mean a revision of the U.S. stance toward Russia as an aggressor.

"From a political and legal standpoint, this would be an official recognition that Russia no longer poses a threat to the world. It’s unlikely that there would be enough votes in the U.S. Congress for such an initiative. Even if President Trump attempts to issue a corresponding decree, it would most likely be challenged in the courts and blocked for years."

Clearly, Americans understand this well. Therefore, the question arises: what is the purpose of this provision, and what role does Ukraine play? After all, these are purely U.S. matters.

One possible scenario: the sole aim of this "leak" is to provoke Ukraine into a public refusal, and then blame us for derailing the negotiations.

There is currently not enough information to determine how exactly Ukraine should act in this situation. But one thing is clear: our main task is to maintain the U.S. as an ally. Especially since there are currently opposing views within the American administration regarding Ukraine. Sufficiently influential forces are waiting for a reason to shift the responsibility for the failure of negotiations onto Kyiv.

This means one thing: we need to be as restrained and balanced as possible, and say as little as possible in public. We should not play by someone else’s script while also looking for our own opportunities.

Because right now is the moment when everything said can truly be used against us.

Wisdom and patience to all of us.

Source

About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.