Deputy Secretary General: NATO will never recognize annexation of Crimea

“Ukrainians chose the path of freedom, democracy, and Euro-Atlantic integration, and NATO is completely on Ukraine’s side. NATO condemns and will never recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. Crimea is the territory of Ukraine, and we call on Russia to return control over the peninsula to Ukraine,” NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said at the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform….

He noted that the security situation in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, as well as in the Black Sea-Azov region, affected “all of us.”

“Russia’s actions in Crimea….are indeed a threat to the world order based on rules and principles. This is not just an issue of Ukraine, this is an issue for all of us in a free democratic world,” the NATO Deputy Secretary General emphasized.