Ukraine appeals to UN Secretary-General over Russia's actions in occupied Crimea

24.12.2019 10:17

Ukrinform

Ukraine has expressed its resolute protest against another "visit" by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the temporarily occupied Crimea and the opening of a rail link across the Kerch Strait.

This is stated in a letter sent by Yuri Vitrenko, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of Ukraine to the UN, to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to Ukrinform's correspondent in New York.

"Neither the visits of Russian officials to Crimea nor the construction of the bridge, just like any other actions of the occupation administration, can in no way change the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as an integral part of the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders," Vitrenko said.

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— yuri vitrenko 🇺🇦 (@VitrenkoYuri) 23 грудня 2019 р.

According to him, Russia's actions as regards the so-called "Crimean Bridge" grossly violate the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, bilateral treaty obligations to Ukraine, and fundamentally contradict the universally accepted norms and principles of international law.

"Neither Ukraine nor any other civilized state recognizes the Kremlin's vain attempts to legitimize the annexation of part of Ukraine's sovereign territory," Vitrenko wrote.

According to the letter, Ukraine demands that the Russian side "cease illegal acts and any activity on the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation."

The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations said that this letter would be distributed as an official document of the UN General Assembly as part of the consideration of an agenda item "The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine" and as a document of the UN Security Council.

Previously adopted resolutions of the UN General Assembly directly condemn the construction of the bridge as a gross violation of the UN charter, and also warn Russian officials against making visits to the Crimean peninsula without the consent of Ukraine.

On December 23, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed its protest over Putin's uncoordinated visit to the occupied Crimea and the opening of railway traffic on the "Crimean Bridge."