In a video address to a summit of the Crimea Platform on Wednesday, Andrzej Duda said: “Our today's meeting is living proof that the international community has understood the significance of the illegal occupation of Crimea and other Ukrainian lands to the whole world.”
Duda added that Russia’s occupation of Crimea “does not only exemplify the ideology of Russkiy mir in practice but is also an ominous sign of a world which may materialize when international law, human rights or the provisions of the UN Charter are no longer respected.”
In his speech to the gathering, the Polish head of state said: “Poland does not accept such a vision and it will never do. That is why since 2014 we have consistently stood with Ukraine. The developments of March and April 2014 were a signal for us about Russia's real intentions concerning Ukraine: the annexation of its territory, annihilation of the statehood and destruction of Ukrainian culture and language. Hence, we made an appeal for international solidarity with Ukraine already then.”
Duda added that "now is a totally different point in time” and “nobody should have any illusions that the occupation of Crimea is a regional problem,” Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish president told the Crimea Platform summit: “It is a global problem. Unless we solve it together, we will de facto begin to agree to a new international security architecture and a new global order based on the law of force.”
He stated: “Therefore, the de–occupation of Crimea and restoration of Ukraine's full territorial integrity are necessary preconditions, not just for the security of the Azov–Black Sea region, but also for the stability of the global security architecture.”
Duda said the international community “must not let Putin achieve his goals vis-à-vis Ukraine” and so “we must do all we can to ensure” that Crimea “becomes part of Ukraine again.”
He added that “there can be no concessions to Russia” and that Moscow “has to return all the seized territories and face the consequences of its actions.”
Launched by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2021, the Crimea Platform is a consultative forum bringing together like-minded countries and international organisations seeking to put an end to Russia's occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, which has continued since 2014, the PAP news agency reported.
Wednesday’s summit took place in Kyiv, hosted by Zelensky, and also featured French President Emmanuel Macron, America’s top diplomat Antony Blinken and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda, among other politicians.
Some participants, including Hungary’s President Katalin Novak, attended in person, while others took part in the meeting via video link, according to officials.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 546 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, president.pl