All this began in Crimea and must end in Crimea – Lithuanian President
In his speech at the Crimean Platform summit, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stressed that it was Crimea where the Russian aggression against Ukraine began, and the peninsula would have to be the place where it would finally be put to an end.
Source: European Pravda
Details: Nausėda emphasised that Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine was preceded by hybrid armed aggression in 2014.
"We could all see how one cynical violation of international law paved the way for the next," the Lithuanian president said.
He provided a long list of crimes that the Russian military has committed and continues to commit in the war against Ukraine.
In addition, Nausėda stressed that Russia also uses control over Crimea to wage war against Ukraine and to restrict the freedom of the shipping industry in the Black Sea, posing a threat to global food security.
Quote: "It all started in Crimea in February 2014. And it appears to be where it should end – when Crimea is brought back as part of the Ukrainian state. The Ukrainian people deserve to see Crimea liberated and secure. The indigenous people, the Crimean Tatars, who suffered waves of ethnic cleansing and genocide under first the Tsarist and then the Soviet regimes, deserve to build their home, free from discrimination and repression."
More details: The Lithuanian President added the international community must ensure that Russia is held accountable for all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. "Those responsible for numerous war crimes and the crime of aggression itself must not go unpunished," Nausėda said.
Background: In his speech, the President of Portugal noted that the issue of Crimea cannot be separated from the broader context of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister announced that this year, the number of participants in the Crimean Platform has increased again, with the addition of new states and organisations, including Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the top guests who personally arrived in Ukraine are Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
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