Summit of the Crimean Platform
Selenskyj: “Ukraine does not trade with its country”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj has once again rejected the idea of territorial cessions. Photo
© Efrem Lukatsky/AP/dpa
Ukraine is holding a summit of the so-called Crimean Platform. President Zelenskyj particularly recalls the situation of the Crimean Tatar minority on the peninsula annexed by Russia.
In particular, the head of state highlighted the Muslim minority of Crimean Tatars as a group in Crimea that is particularly persecuted by the Russian authorities. Zelenskyj appealed to the predominantly Muslim neighboring states of Turkey and Azerbaijan to put pressure on Russia.
According to Zelensky, there were more than 60 summit participants. Among others, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil and Moldovan Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu traveled to Kyiv for the meeting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart David Lammy also attended in person. However, the majority of speakers limited themselves to video messages.
Russia annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014. Since 2021, Kyiv has been trying to raise international awareness of the situation on the peninsula with meetings of the so-called Crimean Platform. In 2022, the Kremlin launched a major attack on Ukraine. Almost 20 percent of Ukrainian territory is now controlled by Moscow. In addition to Crimea, Russia also lays claim to four other regions in the south and east of the neighboring country. Kyiv has set the restoration of the 1991 borders as a minimum goal.