[tz] 61472314_Letter from the Embassy of Ukraine

[Paul Eggert]

Andrii Yanevskyi, thank you for your letter of October 31 about the timezone of 
Crimea.

First, here is a bit of background. The timezone database (tzdb) is intended as 
an aid for users to help them select timezones appropriate for their practical 
needs. If civil time as observed in a region is a particular offset from 
Coordinated Universal Time, the established tzdb practice is to record that 
region's civil time the way it is typically observed, independently of what it 
ought to be. In other words, tzdb is descriptive not prescriptive, and (as 
stated in its documentation) tzdb is "by no means authoritative" and "is not 
intended to take or endorse any position on legal or territorial claims."

Second, here is a possible solution for the situation you describe. Because tzdb 
is not authoritative, the government of Ukraine could publish a version that has 
been adjusted to conform to Ukrainian law and regulations and that is 
authoritative for Ukraine. That way, users who prefer Crimean time as specified 
in Ukrainian law could use the adjusted copy of tzdb.

Please feel free to contact the tz mailing list <tz at iana.org> if you have 
further questions or comments.

PS. The tz mailing list normally uses plain text, so it would help communication 
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see <https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/tz/2019-November/thread.html> for examples 
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<https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/tz/2019-October/028553.html> for the awkward way 
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