Elon Musk tried his hand at some armchair diplomacy by proposing a compromise that would end the Russian invasion of Ukraine — sparking outrage among Twitter users who did not take too kindly to suggestions that Kyiv should give up territory to the Kremlin.
The Tesla CEO posted a “Yes, No” survey on his Twitter feed which included his own ideas for how to end the impasse in Eastern Europe, which has dragged on for some six months and has destabilized oil markets.
Musk called for a “redo” of “elections of annexed regions under UN supervision.”
“Russia leaves if that is [the] will of the people,” the world’s richest man tweeted.
Musk then waded into the controversial issue of the future of Crimea, calling for the region to become “formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).”
The tech mogul made reference to the late Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev’s decision in 1954 to “gift” the people of Ukraine the Crimea region in order to mark the 300th anniversary of Ukraine’s merger with the Russian empire.
Historians say that Khrushchev’s “gift” was designed to consolidate Soviet control over Ukraine since it brought a larger number of ethnic Russians living in Crimea into the Soviet republic.
Ukraine-Russia Peace:
– Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
– Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).
– Water supply to Crimea assured.
– Ukraine remains neutral.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
Musk also proposed that “water supply to Crimea [be] assured” and that “Ukraine remains neutral.”
The “peace plan” put forward by Musk apparently is a non-starter for supporters of Ukraine who are insisting that their forces rout the Russian military and beat back its troops.
As of 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, more than 62% of the nearly 1 million people who voted in the poll rejected Musk’s ideas while just 37.5% voted in favor.
Illia Ponomarkenko, a Ukraine-based war correspondent, tweeted: “Elon, you’re drunk buddy, let’s get you home now.”
“Nope. Annexed areas are Ukraine,” tweeted Twitter user Bill Janis. “Crimea is where the UN election happens. Ukraine joins EU.”
Another Twitter user also rejected the idea of giving Crimea back to Russia, comparing the region to Alaska.
“They sold Alaska, why would it belong to [the Russians]?” tweeted Brian Lee.
“They agreed on a price and let it go. If the want it they can buy it back, they’re not going to like the price.”
Another Ukrainian journalist, Anastasiia Lapatina, offered up “a bit of actual history for” Musk.
“Crimea belongs to Ukraine, and more specifically, to Crimean Tatars,” she tweeted, tagging Musk in her thread.
“They were the absolute majority of Crimea’s population before imperial Russia annexed it in 1783, and began its centuries-long russification campaign, which included a genocide of CT in 1944.”
“Don’t act like you know who Crimea belongs to,” she tweeted.
In the early stages of the war, Musk provided Ukraine with internet access through his Starlink satellite system.
Ukrainian military officials credited the space-based satellites with providing badly needed communication avenues to Ukraine so that it could mount a counter-offensive against invading Russian forces.
Musk, who is also CEO of space exploration firm SpaceX, also got into a Twitter spat with Russian space officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that he would be amenable to negotiate with Russia on a peace agreement, though he ruled out doing so as long as Vladimir Putin was in charge in Moscow.
Zelensky was outraged after Putin issued a decree formally annexing four regions of Ukraine.
“We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia,” Zelensky said. The Ukrainian leader said that his country also planned to expedite its application to join the NATO alliance.
