The west condemns Russia’s occupation of Crimea — joint statement

The western countries will neither forget nor abandon Crimea.

“We will neither forget nor abandon Crimea,” reads the statement of the foreign ministers of eleven countries, which was published in the Opinion column of The Guardian.

In particular, the signatories to the statement are Edgars Rinkēvičs, minister of foreign affairs of Latvia; Pavlo Klimkin, minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine; Sven Mikser, minister of foreign affairs of Estonia; Linas Linkevičius, minister of foreign affairs of Lithuania; Jacek Czaputowicz, minister of foreign affairs of Poland; Margot Wallström, minister of foreign affairs of Sweden; Anders Samuelsen, minister of foreign affairs of Denmark; Chrystia Freeland, minister of foreign affairs of Canada; Teodor Meleşcanu, minister of foreign affairs of Romania; Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs; Tomáš Petříček, minister of foreign affairs of the Czech Republic.

According to them, the events that unfolded in Crimea five years ago have once again taught that security and freedom cannot be taken for granted and that the international law and individual and collective security must be upheld.

As noted, providing help and assistance to Ukraine is crucial as Ukraine’s security is linked to the security of the whole of Europe.

“We will continue our non-recognition policy with respect to the illegal annexation of Crimea, and continue to condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in the strongest terms,” the foreign ministers emphasize.

It is also underscored that the policy of coordinated international sanctions sends a clear message to Russia that disregard for international law has consequences. 

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