Ukraine committed to return Crimea by diplomatic means – Poroshenko

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said this in his address to the Ukrainian people on the occasion of the Day of Struggle for the Rights of Crimean Tatar People.

"In the confrontation with the enemy, who turns the blossoming Crimean land into a giant military base, our state will hold the stand of the civilized world and ensure the preservation of peace, freedom and democracy. We are committed to return the occupied Crimea by political and diplomatic means as Crimea has been and remains to be an integral part of our state," the statement reads.

The President stressed that the leading democratic countries of the world categorically rejected Russia’s annexation of Crimea: "We highly appreciate their consistent and clear support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine amid the continuing Russian aggression, as well as their particular attention to the fate of the Crimean Tatars and all Ukrainian patriots in the occupied autonomy."

Poroshenko expressed gratitude to foreign partners for all-round assistance in returning Crimea through exerting international pressure on the occupier by means of sanctions and judicial proceedings.

"We have a legal assessment of the actions of the aggressor, the Russian Federation, from the International Court of Justice. We are also grateful to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the recent decision on the situation in Crimea, which put forward a number of demands to Russia, in particular, the demand to restore the activity of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in Crimea and allow its leaders to enter the peninsula," he said.

The President also stressed that the decision on visa waiver for Ukrainian citizens opened up the new opportunities for the de-occupation of Crimea and its return to Ukraine.

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