Виступ Міністра закордонних справ України Дмитра Кулеби під час заходу всисокого рівня за формулою "Арріа": Крим: 7 років порушень суверенітету та територіальної цілісності України
Dear colleagues,
Seven years have passed since the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea by Russia. We gathered today in an Arria format, that had already become annual, to discuss the consequences of this aggression and deteriorating situation on the peninsula.
I’m particularly grateful to Minister Liimets for Estonian leadership in making this Arria possible, as well as to all its co-organizers, especially those, who co-sponsor such Crimean event for the first time. The geography of participants and cosponsors is widening, which means that the attention of the UN member-states to the temporary occupation of Crimea is growing. From Honduras and Costa-Rica to Europe or North America, the whole world is watching. Every voice counts. And I’m saying it not only because it proves that we are on the right track, but also with a regret because it means that the situation in Crimea is deteriorating.
Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014 caused a major crisis in international politics and undermined the authority of international organizations.
It also proved that we, the UN member-states, should stay vigilant and prepared. We should not let the events of 2014 happen again. We should never again be taken by surprise while thinking that in modern world such cynical violations of the international law are impossible. They are possible and they are real.
This year brings us a special opportunity to further strengthen Euro-Atlantic unity as well as increase the effectiveness of our joint efforts in deoccupation of Crimea.
Unfortunately, back in 2014 the response of the UN and the whole membership to the beginning of the occupation of Crimea was not strong enough to discourage Russia from its further aggression. The outcomes of the first meeting of the Council on the matter, requested by Ukraine in February 2014, proved Russia would not listen to the international community. In March 2014, Russia vetoed Council draft resolution in support of territorial integrity of Ukraine. The same month it detained, threatened and expelled from Crimea the UN envoy who was there on official mission. The then SG, obviously not expecting such cynical behavior of non-elected Council member, even avoided using article 99 of the Charter and bringing the aggression to further attention of the Council. And Russia, in its turn, has continued its occupation of Crimea.
As a result, Russian military presence on the Peninsula has more than doubled. Other negative trends vary from changing demographic structure of the population of Crimea to political persecution or even barbaric treatment of UNESCO world heritage sites. The aim of Russia’s disruptive policy is to achieve legitimization of its attempted annexation, to cement the status quo and to project its military power from Crimea to the Azov-Black seas region and Mediterranean.
The worst thing that could happen today is if the international community gets used to the occupation, to the mentioned deterioration of the situation on the peninsula and continues the business as usual.
This should never happen. Determined actions based on the long-term vision are urgently needed to reverse the negative consequences of the occupation of Crimea and to ensure restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
With this in mind Ukraine has established a new consultation and coordination format – the Crimean Platform. It is a flexible international mechanism to provide long-term vision of de-occupation of Crimea, consolidation of international efforts and synergy of intergovernmental, parliamentary and expert levels.
Taking this opportunity, I invite all UN member-states to join the initiative.
An inaugural Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Kyiv on 23 August 2021, will launch the Crimean Platform and adopt a Charter outlining the vision for further consolidation of the Crimean policy. I hope to see you there.