Dzheppar invites Switzerland to join Crimean Platform

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar invited Switzerland to join the Crimean Platform initiative.

"Emine Dzheppar informed Krystyna Marty, the Acting State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, about the human rights violations and militarization of Crimea by the Russian Federation, briefed about the priority goals of the Crimean Platform initiative and invited Switzerland to join its activities," the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported following Dzheppar-Marty video meeting on December 8.

As noted, the Acting State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that her country will never recognize the occupation of Crimea. Marty also expressed concern about human rights violations on the peninsula.

The Swiss diplomat agreed with the importance of stepping up the attention of the international community to the issue of de-occupation of Crimea and assured that Switzerland will consider the Ukrainian initiative in detail.

As reported, the Crimean Platform is a new consultative and coordination format initiated by Ukraine to improve the international response to the occupation of Crimea, react to security challenges, increase international pressure on Russia, prevent further human rights violations, protect victims of the occupation regime, and achieve the de-occupation of Crimea and restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty over the peninsula.

The Platform is expected to operate at the levels of heads of state and government, foreign ministers, inter-parliamentary cooperation and expert network.

The activities of the Crimean Platform will be officially launched at the inaugural summit, which is scheduled for 2021 in Kyiv.

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