Dzheppar: Turkey actively supports issue of Crimea in international arena

"Turkey is one of the most active supporters of the Crimea issue in the international arena," First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar said in a comment to Anadolu Turkish state news agency on the eve of the Crimea Platform summit.

The deputy minister stated that Ukraine hoped to intensify international efforts to liberate the peninsula with the help of the Crimea Platform.

"The occupation of Crimea remains an open wound for Ukraine and an example of the fragility of the world security system. This unprecedented problem of international security requires intensive national and international efforts and mechanisms to address this issue," the politician said.

Dzheppar explained that the Crimea Platform was a new tool for coordinating international efforts to ensure the territorial integrity of Ukraine, aiming to return the issue of Crimea to the international agenda.

"Promoting policy of non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea, strengthening the effect of sanctions, protecting human rights and freedoms in the temporarily occupied Crimea which limits the militarization of the peninsula. This will be a priority," Dzheppar said.

According to her, the Crimea Platform summit in August will mark the main activity. The summit is expected to be held in a political dimension every two or three years to evaluate the results of activities and determine future goals.

The Crimea Platform is a new consultative and coordination format initiated by Ukraine to step up the efficiency of international response to the occupation of Crimea, respond to growing security challenges, increase international pressure on Russia, prevent further human rights violations, protect victims of the occupation regime, and achieve the main goal: to de-occupy Crimea and restore Ukraine’s sovereignty over the peninsula.

The Platform is to operate at several levels: heads of state and government, foreign ministers, inter-parliamentary cooperation, expert network.

The activity of the Crimea Platform will be officially launched at the inaugural summit in Kyiv on August 23, 2021.

The Crimea Platform is expected to be presented at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

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