US: Occupation of Crimea have implications far beyond Ukraine’s borders

“Russia’s occupation and militarization of the [Crimean] Peninsula have implications far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Russia has moved nuclear-capable aircraft, missiles, weapons, and ammunition into the peninsula and has increased its military presence in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Kerch Strait. This is a threat to the world’s common security,” U.S. Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at the United Nations Security Council high-level Arria-formula meeting on Crimea on March 12.

“As President Biden said last month, when Russia invaded its neighbors, it did not just violate another country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it violated international law and the very norms by which modern countries engage with one another,” she stressed.

The U.S. representative pointed out a large number of participants in the meeting on Crimea, noting it “is a powerful demonstration that – seven years after Russia’s invasion of Crimea – the international community still supports the bedrock principle in the UN Charter: no country can change the borders of another one by force.”

In this regard, Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that the United States welcomed Ukraine’s new initiative, the Crimean Platform, as the next step and venue for international partners committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “It’s time to end Russia’s occupation of Crimea and its ongoing aggression in eastern Ukraine. We look forward to continuing our work with Ukraine, our allies, our partners to do just that,” the U.S. Representative to the United Nations summed up.

ol