What is expected from states participating in the Crimea Platform? What will be the next steps after the Summit and adoption of the Charter?

  • reconfirm the commitment to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders;
  • reiterate the stance on non-recognition of the attempted annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation;
  • participate in the Summit at the highest level;
  • support the Charter of the Crimea Platform;
    as well as to consider:
  • taking part in the activities on main tracks (non-recognition; sanctions; security and freedom of navigation; human rights and international humanitarian law; economy and environment);
  • taking lead in one of the activity areas;
  • organizing, co-organizing and taking active part in thematic events on national and international level, side-events during main meetings/sessions of the international organizations;
  • initiating, co-sponsoring, voting for documents at the international organizations on the Crimean issue, as well as lobbying third parties to support such documents.

What is the added value of the Crimea Platform for Ukraine?

  • provide long-term vision of de-occupation of Crimea;
  • consolidate attention and resources of international community, distracted in current turbulent times;
  • create synergy of efforts within and between intergovernmental, inter-parliamentary and non-governmental levels.

What is the added value of the Crimea Platform for international community?

  • the attempted annexation of Crimea is the most prominent recent example of undermining the rules based order globally and in Europe. Return of the peninsula to Ukraine will contribute to restoring respect for established norms of international law thus strengthening international peace and security;
  • ending the Russian occupation will remove the mounting hard and hybrid security threats in the Euro-Atlantic area, which are caused by the continuing militarization of the peninsula, thus stabilizing the security situation in the region;
  • the occupied Crimea is synonymous with severe human rights abuses and IHL violations. The international community should stand firm in defending core values and principles that define modern societies.

What is the ultimate goal of the Crimea Platform?

  • the ultimate goal of the Crimea Platform is the de-occupation of Crimea, its return to Ukraine and compensation for damage caused by the temporary occupation.
  • in broader sense the goal of the Platform’s activities is to restore respect for norms and principles of international law, to reinstate the rules-based order and to ensure resolute rejection of any attempt to change internationally recognized borders through the use of force;
  • considering the dire human rights situation in the occupied Crimea, liberating the peninsula will put an end to human sufferings;
  • resolution of the Crimean case and the peninsula’s return to Ukraine will eliminate the root of disruptive activities of the Russian Federation in the regions of Azov and Black Seas, Eastern Mediterranean, military and hybrid threats to wider regional security and the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

What will be the possible formats of Platform’s activity?

  • Summits at the level of heads of state and government;
  • meetings at the level of MFA ministers;
  • parliamentary meeting on the margins of sessions of the CoE, OSCE, NATO Parliamentary assemblies;
  • coordination committee at the level of representatives of diplomatic missions of participating states and organizations in Kyiv + MFA of Ukraine (general coordinationpolitical issues);
  • ad hoc or permanent working groups (for example, on non-recognition policy, on sanctions, on security and freedom of navigation, on violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, on environmental threats etc.) Depending on the issue, such working groups, in addition to the representatives of diplomatic missions, may bring together experts from the capitals;
  • international expert network;
  • a dedicated secretariat is not envisioned, practical coordination work to be done by missions in Kyiv and the MFA of Ukraine.

How people in Crimea will benefit from the launch of the Crimea Platform?

  • increased international attention serves as a factor in preventing further violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, political oppression, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment by Russian occupation authorities;
  • projects to keep ties between the temporary occupied peninsula and mainland Ukraine will be aimed at ensuring access to administrative services in Ukraine for Crimean residents, providing them with broader educational opportunities, preserving cultural identities for communities under occupation;
  • de-occupation of Crimea and its reintegration into Ukraine will open for Crimean residents currently closed venues for participation in European and global economic, trade, scientific, sport and cultural processes.

What is the contribution of Ukraine into the Crimea Platform cause?

  • Ukraine coined the idea and initiated creation of new international format which serves not only Ukrainian interests, but the interests of the international community with regard to protection of rules-based order, as well as interests of states of the Black Sea and Mediterranean region;
  • Ukraine provides vision and outline of the Crimean policy for consideration of international partners;
  • Ukraine together with international partners makes voluntary financial contributions necessary for the functioning of the international expert network;
  • Ukraine provides governmental and non-governmental analytical data and expertise with regard to threats posed by the temporary occupation of Crimea.

Which partners expressed readiness to take part in the Crimea Platform?

  • Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Slovenia, the European Union have expressed support for the initiative to create a Crimea Platform;
  • the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Georgia, Turkey announced their readiness to take an active part in the work of the Platform.

Will the Russian Federation be invited?

  • Russia will be invited to participate in the Crimea platform to start dialogue on de-occupation of Crimea.

Have you considered the role of the expert community? How cooperation with the expert community is organized?

  • Creation of the International Expert network of the Crimea Platform is underway. 80 Ukrainian and International experts expressed interest in joining it.
  • A special fund to financially support research on the Crimean track is envisaged. It will be financed through voluntary contributions.
  • Researches, reports and recommendations will be presented to governments, international organizations to inform their activities and during public events in Ukraine and abroad.
  • A quarterly digest on recent developments in Crimea under occupation will be prepared by the network.

What events are planned for 2021 (in addition to the Summit on the 23-d of August)?

  • International Expert Network of the Crimea Platform meeting (on the margins of the Summit);
  • Black Sea Security Conference (tentatively in autumn 2021);
  • coordinating committee meeting(s) at the level of representatives of diplomatic missions in Kyiv + MFA of Ukraine – to agree on the Summit Charter.

How do you plan to avoid overlaps / duplication with the existing formats of cooperation on Crimea (including in the EU, UN, NATO, CE, UNESCO, OSCE etc.)?

  • the Crimea Platform will not duplicate the work carried out within existing formats of cooperation;
  • its aim is to provide more coordination of international efforts at different fora;
  • possibility to meet ad hoc in the Crimea Platform’s format in different international organizations in order to discuss initiatives etc (subject to the agreement of participating states).

Who will be invited to the Summit?

  • Invitations will be addressed to the heads of state and governments, as well as to leaders of the international and regional organizations and their parliamentary assemblies.

Will there be any financial obligations?

  • No mandatory financial contributions.
  • A fund for expert network and Investment fund will be filled through voluntary contributions.

What are the basic documents of the Crimea Platform?

  • A Charter is expected to be adopted at the Summit.
  • The Charter should reconfirm the key principles of international policy on Crimea such as non-recognition of attempted annexation of Crimea, countering militarization, using the instruments of the EU, UN, CoE and OSCE to overcome the consequences of temporary occupation.

What level of institutionalization of the Crimea Platform do you envisage?

  • No formal Secretariat of the Crimea Platform is foreseen.