We have a very simple understanding of the agenda – Crimea must return under the control of Ukraine. And we will do it
On September 11, 2024, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko delivered a welcoming speech at the discussion panel ‘Crimea and the Peace Formula. Humanitarian aspect’, which took place within the framework of the Fourth Summit of the International Crimea Platform.
The event was organised by the Crimean Platform's expert network in partnership with the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the Crimean Human Rights Group and the ZMINA Human Rights Centre.
“All Ukrainians believe that the war began with the occupation of Crimea in 2014. Therefore, we have a very simple understanding of the agenda – Crimea must return under the control of Ukraine. And we will do it. A number of steps have already been taken to this end, and their number will grow,” said First Vice Speaker Oleksandr Korniienko in his speech.
He stressed that in 2021 Ukraine initiated the Crimea Platform format to improve the effectiveness of the international community's response to the occupation of the peninsula. The main goal is to liberate Ukrainian territory from the russian aggressor.
This year, according to Oleksandr Korniienko, parliamentary diplomacy will be based on two important contexts. “The first is the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. This is a terrible event that left a black page in our history. We will urge the world to recognise it as genocide,” he said.
The second context is the return of all political prisoners from russian captivity. “The return of Nariman Dzhelal home from russian captivity is an important example of how diplomacy and support from countries can achieve practical results. I wrote a letter to the youngest political prisoner. All of them should be at home – on their own land,” said the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Korniienko thanked the partners who support and help Ukraine to return all the people home. He expressed special gratitude to the entire team of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The participants of the panel heard from Wilfried Jilge, Eastern European historian, Senior Advisor on Ukraine and the Black Sea Region at the Stabilisation Platform's Integrated Response Hub for Ukraine; William Taylor, American diplomat and Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace; Rory Finnin, Founder and Head of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge, researcher of Crimean history, United 24 volunteer; Professor of Kobe Gakuin University, President of the Association of Ukrainian Studies of Japan, Ukrainian scholar Okabe Yoshihiko; representative of the Commissioner for the Rights of Residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol Elvin Kadyrov, as well as the Head of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group, coordinator of the Crimean Platform Expert Network Olha Skrypnyk.
