Czech Republic condemns escalation in Donbas, recalls illegal annexation of Crimea

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic said this in a statement on the 6th anniversary of the beginning of the illegal occupation of Crimea.

“The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounces the current escalation of the armed conflict by Russian-backed separatists near Zolote in Eastern Ukraine that occurred on 18 February 2020. It is a clear violation of the Minsk Agreements and an apparent attempt to destabilize the peace process,” the statement reads.

The Czech Republic welcomes the efforts of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to bring the peace process forward and calls on Russia to exert its influence over the separatists and thereby contribute to a peaceful solution of the conflict.

Six years ago, on 20 February 2014, the illegal Russian occupation of Crimea began. This occupation resulted in the organization of an illegitimate referendum and the subsequent annexation of the peninsula by Russia on 18 March 2014, which constitutes a flagrant breach of international law.

“The Czech Republic, together with the European Union and a vast majority of states, does not recognize and strongly condemns the annexation of Crimea and continues to fully support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” the ministry stressed.

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