Foreign Ministry responded to Mélenchon: ’Referendums’ held under occupation are tool of annexation; Ukrainians have already decided on their borders
Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left party "Unbowed France", who had spoken of the need to ask the residents of Donbas which side of the border they wished to be on. He described the idea of "referendums" under occupation as a tool of annexation.
Tikhyi wrote about this on 9 November on the social media platform X, according to Censor.NET.
Tykhyi’s reply
Tykhyi addressed Mélenchon directly:
"Mr Mélenchon, the Ukrainian people have already settled the issue of their country’s borders. In a nationwide referendum in 1991, over 90 per cent of voters supported Ukraine’s independence within its current internationally recognised borders. The majority voted ‘yes’ in every region, including the Donbas (83 per cent)".
According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, the only party to have ignored the will of the Ukrainian people was Russia, the aggressor state, which attempted to alter the borders by force by launching an aggressive war.
Tykhyi also stated that the Russian dictator refuses to end the war, despite constructive proposals from Ukraine and its partners, and that is precisely why it is continuing.
"'Referendums' held under occupation are a tool of annexation, not an expression of the will of the people. No civilised democratic country would ever accept this within its own borders, so it is not worth proposing this to Ukrainians", concluded the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
What Mélenchon said
- Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the French party ‘Unbowed France’, stated on 7 November during an election rally in Le Bourget that a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine cannot involve territorial concessions regarding the Donbas without the consent of the local population:
"We cannot agree to consider the possibility of peace through territorial concessions in Ukraine without asking the people concerned whether they agree to be on one side or the other of the border".
According to the ‘Unconquered France’ programme, published yesterday, the party is calling for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and negotiations on a lasting peace with guarantees of collective security.
The Barro reaction
Later, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barro, criticised these remarks. Speaking to RTL, he said that Mélenchon had "simply made himself a spokesperson for the Kremlin" and, in the minister’s view, this definitively disqualifies the politician from holding the office to which he aspires.
