Russia qualified as an occupying state by the 46 countries of the "Crimean Platform"

Kiev, August 23, 2021. No less than 46 countries have responded to participate in the Crimean Platform aimed at condemning this Russian annexation since 2014. AFP - -

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In Ukraine, more than seven years after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the Kiev government organized the first international summit intended to prepare for a possible return of Crimea to Ukraine.

The "Crimean Platform" brought together representatives of 46 countries this Monday in Kiev, who agreed on a joint declaration aimed at ending the Russian occupation on the peninsula.

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With our correspondent in Kiev,

Stéphane Siohan 

Since 2014, the annexation of Crimea had passed into the background of the war in Donbass, as if the international community took the occupation of the peninsula for granted.

On the occasion of the 30 years of its independence, Ukraine wishes to launch a diplomatic mechanism which will allow the return of Crimea to its fold.

At the opening of the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his partners to shake things up. 

For the first time, internationally, Russia is recognized as an occupying state, and under international humanitarian law, it must stop human rights violations in occupied Crimea, and must allow unrestricted access to international humanitarian organizations. . 

The question of Crimea is not resolved.

However, the Kremlin denounced the Crimean Platform as a very hostile and anti-Russian initiative, while for three years Russia has been strengthening its military and economic hold on the annexed province.  

In this context, the prospect of diplomatic advances around Crimea seem extremely uncertain. However, for Ukraine, which cannot compete militarily with Moscow, diplomacy is the only possible way to regain control of Crimea, explains Volodymyr Yermolenko, doctor of political studies in Kiev: “

I think Ukraine is very realistic about its capabilities.

Opposite, Russia has a very powerful army.

We see under the Putin regime a militarization of society and the state.

It is also a nuclear power as Ukraine renounced nuclear weapons upon independence.

There is a danger of future aggression.

Ukraine is surrounded: there is the offensive from the east and the threat from Crimea to the south, which is a much more powerful military base than the American bases during the Cold War in Europe.

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• Ukraine

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