The inaugural summit of the Crimean Platform became the starting point for a completely new international format for counteracting violations of international law. Bringing the occupation of Crimea closer by peaceful means, the participants of the Crimean Platform will defend the principle of inviolability of internationally recognized borders, human rights and international humanitarian law, freedom of navigation, stability and security not only in the Azov-Black Sea region but also in the whole world.
This Summit has become unprecedented in the history of Ukraine both in terms of the number of participants and the content. It was attended by 47 states and international organizations. The delegations were headed by 15 heads of state and government, 2 speakers of parliaments, and 14 ministers. The event was attended by the heads of institutions of the European Union, the Secretaries General of the Council of Europe and GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, and the Deputy Secretary General of NATO.
The list of Summit participants included Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Northern Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, UK, US, EU, NATO, Council of Europe and GUAM.
The official part of the summit began with a speech by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Speeches were also made by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, the heads of foreign delegations, leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev, representative of the Expert Network of the Crimean Platform Olga Skrypnyk.
Opening the summit, President of Ukraine stressed that the Crimean Platform will become a centre for the development and adoption of key international decisions on Crimea. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said that by launching the Crimean Platform, Ukraine is solving two tasks: returning Crimea to the agenda of state leaders and in the international information space, as well as solving Crimea’s problems and moving towards its de-occupation. The Joint Declaration of the Crimean Platform now serves as a guide for this systematic work.
The creation of the Crimean Platform is part of a broader Foreign Policy Strategy. It envisages the creation of new alliances of countries to strengthen the security of Ukraine, the region and the world. In the foreign ministry of each country that has already joined or will join to the Joint Declaration in the future, a specific person will be appointed to take care of the Crimea issue.
The newly established Crimean Platform Office will monitor the situation in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and coordinate its de-occupation efforts.
The leaders of foreign states and international organizations reaffirmed their continued support for Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and stressed the need to continue joint efforts to overcome the negative consequences of the temporary occupation of Crimea in security, human rights, ecology and economy. They stressed the importance of maintaining the effectiveness and resilience of the non-recognition regime of any change in the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence, experts in international relations, international law, sanctions policy, security and human rights took part in panel discussions on non-recognition of the attempt to annex Crimea, militarization of the Azov-Black Sea region as a threat to world security, ways to reintegrate Crimea through human rights and sustainable development, restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people.
Foreign parliamentarians attended an extraordinary sitting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, at which members of parliament approved a Resolution in support of the Crimean Platform.