Foreign Ministry renews Ukraine’s application for observer status in Organization of Islamic Cooperation

"We are interested in gaining observer status in the OIC in the short-term which will facilitate closer coordination with the authoritative association in the institutional format and deepening relations with its member states at the bilateral level," Dzheppar said, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also briefed Yousef Al-Othaimeen on the situation in the Russian-occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea, drawing the interlocutor's attention to the ongoing repression and persecution of peninsula’s residents, who disagreed with the occupation, by the occupying power. It was emphasized that the Crimean Tatars suffered persecutions the most, in particular on religious grounds.

In this context, the First Deputy Foreign Minister drew attention to the Crimean Platform initiative, the key task of which is to further consolidate and coordinate the efforts of de-occupation of Crimea and non-recognition of annexation and expressed gratitude to the OIC for paying attention to the problems of Crimean Muslim Tatars and their rights, which is reflected in the relevant final documents of the summits and meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization’s member states.

As noted, the parties expressed their willingness to continue maintaining regular contacts at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the General Secretariat of the OIC. Emine Dzheppar invited the OIC Secretary General to make a visit to Ukraine.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was founded in 1969 and unites 57 Muslim countries. It is the second largest organization after the UN.

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