Media: US State Secretary Considers Crimea Forever Lost to Ukraine

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who visited Ukraine on January 31, said at a private meeting in Kiev that Crimea was lost to Ukraine forever. As to the Ukrainian NV agency, Mr. Pompeo stated this position meeting Emine Jaaparovа who asked the head of American diplomacy to keep “Crimea in the spotlight of US foreign policy” and to also help with organizing a conference on the Crimean issue in the American capital. In response, Mike Pompeo said that the issue of Crimea is closed. “Crimea is lost. World players understand this. Ukraine has given Crimea and Russia is not one of those something can be taken away from,” the NV agency quoted US Secretary of State’s statement to an unnamed participant of the meeting with Mr. Pompeo. Mike Pompeo visited Kiev in a tour to the post-Soviet countries. Besides the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky the diplomat met with the Foreign Ministers, the Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian activists. During his tour, Mr. Pompeo visited Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.