European Council President: World must prevent legitimization of Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea

At the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that he had arrived to confirm the EU's position on non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol.

"We will continue to pursue our non-recognition policy and will continue to oppose any violations of international law. Such illegal actions will pose a threat to trust and peace… Our goal is to ensure that illegal annexation never becomes legitimized,” the President of the European Council said, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He stressed that the issue of the occupied Crimea should remain high on the international agenda.

"We show our continued political support for this. We want to respond to the threat to the international order in this way. It is absolutely necessary to preserve the world order, and for this, we must attract the widest possible international support for the preservation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea," Michel emphasized.

He also expressed concern about the militarization of occupied Crimea.

"This should be reversed. We must also counter Russia's attempts to forcibly integrate the peninsula into its borders," Michel said.

As reported, the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform – President’s initiative for the de-occupation of Crimea – is held in Kyiv on August 23. Forty-six delegations take part in the summit.

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