Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has confirmed his country's support for the creation of the Crimean Platform to end Russia's occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula.
"We discussed and considered the issue of how we, together, can help Crimean Tatars. We expressed our support for the Crimean Platform initiative. Turkey does not recognize the annexation of Crimea, supports territorial integrity of Ukraine, including in Crimea, and declares this on all international platforms, in including the UN," Çavuşoğlu told reporters in Kyiv following the first bilateral political and security consultations between Ukraine and Turkey in a new "Quadriga" format, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
He also said that Turkey advocates that the issue of Donbas be resolved within the framework of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and international law. He added that Turkey supports the ceasefire reached in eastern Ukraine, at the same time noting violations.
Read alsoU.S. to never accept Russia's annexation of Crimea – EmbassyÇavuşoğlu added that Turkey will continue to support the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, which "has been working in difficult conditions in Donbas."
Crimean Platform to end Russian occupation of the peninsula
At the end of July, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the finalization of the concept of the international platform, "Crimea is Ukraine." At the beginning, it is expected to be a consultative and advisory format, which will grow into a negotiation format.
On August 24, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced that Ukraine would propose that Germany could join the future international platform for the end of the occupation of Crimea.
On September 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who participated in the general debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, called on partners to join the international platform for the end of the Russian occupation of Crimea.
On October 6, the president announced that the European Union is ready to join the platform.
The summit on the launch of the Crimean platform may be held as early as May 2021.
The Platform will operate at several levels. The first, the highest one, is political level, which will involve heads of states and governments. The second level is that of top diplomats and defense chiefs, the third is inter-parliamentary level, and the fourth will involve non-governmental experts. An expert network will be created to enhance the effectiveness of government action, as well as to attract additional intellectual resources to the platform's work.
