Putin claimed Crimea and eastern Ukraine back in 1994 - German Foreign Ministry archive
Kyiv • UNN
Documents have been found in the archives of the German Foreign Ministry confirming Putin's territorial claims to Crimea, eastern Ukraine, and Kazakhstan as early as 1994. The former German Consul General in St. Petersburg reported that Putin stated these territories belonged to Russia.
Documents have been found in the archives of the German Foreign Ministry stating that the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, did not recognize the borders of the Russian Federation back in 1994 and expressed territorial claims regarding Crimea, eastern Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. This was reported by UNN with reference to Der Spiegel.
Details
According to the former German Consul General in St. Petersburg, on January 14, 1994, Russian President Vladimir Putin "emphatically" repeated what he had told him earlier: "Crimea, eastern Ukraine, and northern Kazakhstan - at least these territories - have never been foreign countries to Russia, but have always been part of Russian territory."
The diplomat also noted that Putin appealed to the "national feeling" of Russians, which, he said, was "probably difficult for Germans to understand."
This comment by the German diplomat is contained in a publication by the Institute of Contemporary History.
Recall
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega supported the recognition of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine as "parts" of Russia. In a letter to Vladimir Putin, he stated that these regions are allegedly an "integral" part of the Russian Federation.