The format of the Crimea platform is not only about the de-occupation of Crimea, it is also about the liberation of all the territories of other countries occupied by the Russian Federation. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva speaking during the events on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Office of Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
He said that Ukraine is consistently working on consolidating support from international partners to respond to human rights violations in the temporarily occupied Crimea and achieve the goal of de-occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula.
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President noted the recently adopted updated resolution of the UN General Assembly "Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine," which strongly condemns the new unprecedented wave of arbitrary detentions in Crimea, forced displacement to and from Crimea, violent disappearances, as well as so-called filtering procedures, in particular regarding displaced persons.
"Support for this resolution was the highest in all the years of adoption of similar documents by the UN General Assembly – 82 votes in favor." This clearly demonstrates that the international coalition of like-minded countries of Ukraine is expanding, while the aggressor country continues losing its international positions, because only 13 countries, except the Russian Federation, voted against the resolution," Zhovkva said.
The deputy head of the Office of the President emphasized the important achievements in the promotion of the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – the Crimea Platform international format of cooperation, which reached a new qualitative level this year. He recalled that on August 23, the Second Summit of the Crimea Platform was held at the level of heads of state and government, and on October 25, the first parliamentary summit was held, which launched a new dimension of the initiative. The Crimea Platform has also substantially strengthened thanks to stepping up work in an expert format and the initiation of activities in the academic dimension.
"The main signal of the participants of both summits of the Crimea Platform this year: Crimea is Ukraine. Our partners have clearly stated not only the non-recognition of the attempted illegal annexation of Crimea, but also the need for its de-occupation and Ukraine's legal right to return the peninsula," Zhovkva said.
He also expressed his belief that the Crimea Platform will continue its active work in all dimensions to spread a clear understanding in the world that Crimea is an inseparable part of Ukraine, and it should be de-occupied as soon as possible, like any other region of our country. The deputy head of the President's Office expressed hope that thanks to the consolidation of the efforts of Ukraine and its international partners, this will happen as soon as possible, and said that the return of Crimea will be part of the real victory of our state.
Zhovkva recalled the important role of the Office of Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Permanent Representative of the President Tamila Tasheva personally in updating the issue of de-occupation and reintegration of the Ukrainian peninsula at the international level.