On March 15, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova took part in an online event dedicated to the 7th anniversary of Russia’s occupation of Crimea, organized by the Center for European Policy and the Mission of Ukraine to NATO.

Among the event participants were: Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for European Integration Anatoliy Petrenko, Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy James Appathurai, Co-President of Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Andrius Kubilius, other MEPs, representatives of leading European and US non-governmental organizations that deal with the issues of the Black Sea security.

The main purpose of the discussion was to inform the foreign audience of the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea, in part, with the growing militarization and gross violations of international law and international humanitarian law (human rights violations, suppression of religious freedoms, forced conscription to the Russian armed forces, expropriation of Ukrainian state-owned assets), as well as a presentation by the First Deputy Minister of the Crimea Platform initiative – a new international coordinating and advisory format, which aims to consolidate the attention and resources of the international community on the issue of de-occupation of Crimea.

In this regard, Emine Dzhaparova informed her colleagues of the work that Ukraine is carrying out to ensure international support for the initiative and prepare its Inaugural Summit on August 23, 2021, in particular by creating an expert network, which would consolidate Ukrainian and foreign experts from think tanks, NGOs and media, to provide informational and analytical assistance to the activities of the platform.

"The Crimea Platform is a format based on the strategic vision, consolidation of support of international partners, and the synergy of these efforts. When speaking about NATO's role in the Crimea Platform, we most notably mean the deterrent measures in the Black Sea region. These are joint trainings and drills, the increase in the presence of the Alliance, political support and of the policy of non-recognition", First Deputy Minister stated.

In her speech, Emine Dzhaparova also drew attention to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the approval of the State Strategy for Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, which defines the primary directions of the national policy of de-occupation of the peninsula.

On his part, Anatoliy Petrenko presented facts confirming the growing militarization of the temporarily occupied peninsula and the region of the Black and Azov Seas by Russia, which poses a direct threat to Ukraine and the countries of the region.

For reference: The European Policy Center was established as a political science institution in 1996 and is an independent non-profit think tank, tasked to assist in the process of European integration through disseminating information and analyzing the European and global agenda among the members of the Center, European politicians, and the general public. Since 2017, the center has launched the Ukrainian Platform under the general supervision of a leading expert on Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Turkey, Amanda Paul. The Center has 329 members, including diplomatic missions, business associations, governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental organizations, research institutions, etc.