USA calls on UN countries to join Crimean Platform initiative

Rodney Hunter, a political coordinator of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said this at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, February 11, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“We welcome Ukraine’s Crimean Platform initiative, and hope like-minded partners will consider joining this diplomatic effort to push back on Russia’s aggression and make clear that the international community will not tolerate Russia’s brutal occupation,” he said.

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that Russia had escalated its oppression of any dissent to its brutal occupation of Crimea. “The United States continues to condemn the human rights abuses taking place under Russia’s repressive occupation,” the American representative stressed.

In this regard, he called on the Russian Federation to release the more than 100 Ukrainian political prisoners it is holding, and to end its campaign of intimidation against Crimean Tatars and opponents of their occupation.

"The United States looks forward to continuing to support our Ukrainian partners in their efforts to uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and restore its territorial integrity," the U.S. representative summed up.

As reported, the Crimean Platform is a new consultative and coordination format initiated by Ukraine to improve the efficiency of the international response to the occupation of Crimea, respond to growing security challenges, step up international pressure on Russia, prevent further human rights violations, protect victims of the occupying power and to achieve the de-occupation of Crimea and its return to Ukraine.

The Crimean Platform is expected to operate at the level of heads of state and government, foreign ministers, in the dimension of inter-parliamentary cooperation and expert network.

The Crimean Platform will be launched officially at an inaugural summit in Kyiv on August 23, 2021.

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