Ukraine presents at OSCE further steps within Crimea Platform

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba held the event "Crimea Platform: Moving Forward" on the margins of the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council.

The minister presented elements of the long-term activities of the Crimea Platform and joint actions of the participating States in five priority areas, the Foreign Ministry's press service informs.

"The inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform in Kyiv was a momentous event. Currently, we are actively developing its success and turning the Crimea Platform into a permanent, active, influential format," Kuleba stressed.

The chief Ukrainian diplomat proposed a number of priority projects within the framework of the Crimea Platform, including the development of a modern policy of non-recognition of the attempted annexation; greater effectiveness of sanctions; rapid and coordinated international response to defend human rights, protect Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identity, cultural heritage in Crimea; study of economic losses from occupation and environmental monitoring.

The minister pointed out the importance of developing expert diplomacy and cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Crimea Platform Expert Network.

The event was also attended by Olha Skrypnyk, coordinator of the working group on human rights within the Crimea Platform Expert Network, and Alina Frolova, coordinator of the working group on security, who presented the vision of the non-governmental sector for the current challenges in human rights and security areas of activity of the Crimea Platform and the ways to overcome them.

Apart from Ukraine, the event was co-organized by Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland, Romania, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The event was attended by the foreign ministers of Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, the Czech Republic, representatives of the foreign ministries of Georgia, Turkey, the EU, the United States, and Germany.

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

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