Deputy foreign minister Dzheppar: Strategy for Crimea de-occupation ready

“We have already elaborated the document ‘Strategy for the De-occupation of Crimea.’ It is not public so far as we believe that documents of a wider scale should be presented on such issues. It is only a part of a larger de-occupation strategy. We hope that Ukraine will be able to present it at different levels sooner or later," First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar said on the air of DOM Ukrainian TV channel.

She also announced the plans of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry to create an international communication platform on Crimea. According to the deputy minister, the reaction of the international community to the problems of Crimea is unsystematic and irregular. This is used by Russia, which tries to reconcile the whole world with the fact that the Crimean Peninsula is occupied.

"Our efforts will be aimed at creating a formalized platform dedicated to Crimea, since there is a great demand for it. We have different forms of communication, discussions about the future of Donbas: the Normandy format, the Minsk format. We have international attention to this issue. However, when we talk about Crimea, unfortunately, the reaction of the international community is quite fragmentary and sporadic. When something happens, there is a statement, a reaction. We understand that publicity is the most important task to achieve in the issue of Crimea today as the Russian Federation is making great efforts to reconcile the world with the occupation and the status quo," the deputy minister said.

According to Dzheppar, Russians “use completely different forms (cognitive, hybrid) for such reconciliation."

International organizations have recognized the occupation and annexation of Crimea as illegal and condemned Russia's actions. The European Union extended sanctions against individuals and organizations involved in the annexation of Crimea until September 15, 2020. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared 20 February 2014 the date of the start of the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by Russia.

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