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Law,PoliticsandtheFuture
SławomirDębski
ofCrimea
*
doi:10.7366/9014Crimea1
In2014,followingthelaunchofanarmedattackagainst
Ukraine,theRussianFederationannexedtheCrimean
Peninsula.However,while“Crimeaisours”hassincebeen
heardallacrossRussia,thesentimentisnotsharedoutside
thecountry,wherethedominantpositionisthatCrimea
remainspartofUkrainianterritory,albeittemporarilyunder
Russianoccupation.IntheResolutionoftheUnitedNations
GeneralAssemblyadoptedon27March2014,1
anoverwhelmingmajorityofstatesrefusedtounderwrite
theopinionthatCrimeanowbelongstoRussia.Atotal
of100statesvotedagainstrecognisingCrimeaasapart
oftheRussianFederation,afurther58abstained(which
translatesinpracticeintodenyingtheirsupporttoRussia),
andonly11statesbackedtheRussianposition.The
ResolutioninfactrecommendsthatnoUNMembershould
recogniseRussia’ssovereigntyoverCrimeaandacting
onthisbasistheglobe’smostadvancednations,bestsuited
toenforcementofUNrecommendations,haveimposed
economicsanctionsonRussiaandtheCrimeanterritory
itoccupies.Thegoalhereistopreventtheeffective
incorporationofthePeninsulaintoRussia.
Itshouldbenotedfromtheoutsetthattheabove
approachrepresentsneitherRussophobianoranti-Russian
prejudice,butisratherareflectionoftheverypractical,
pragmaticpoliticalconclusionthattheworldwould
beregressingand(even)lesssafethanitistoday,were
annexationtobecondonedasalegitimateinstrument
ofinternationalpolitics.Tothinkotherwisewouldbetoinvite
otherstomakesimilarunilateralattemptsatannexation,
thusincreasingtheriskofconflictstillfurther.
InaccordancewithUNGeneralAssemblyResolution
3314of1974,2theinternationalcommunityperceives
thenotionofaggressionas“theuseofarmedforce