Last week, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk and a group of MPs from different factions proposed to adopt a Statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the Priority Areas of Ukraine’s State Policy in the Field of de-occupation, reintegration and restoration of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea also contributed to the drafting of the statement. The text is based on the expert recommendations on the priority steps of the state after the de-occupation of Crimea, the Strategy for Economic Recovery of Crimea and the Strategy for Cognitive de-occupation of Crimea, developed over the past year at the initiative of the Mission. 

The document proposes to define that the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised state border, including the de-occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the ensuring of Ukraine’s state sovereignty, is a key condition for ending the war waged by Russia against Ukraine. The statement stresses the unacceptability of any territorial concessions to end the war. It also stipulates that the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy should become the basis for ending Russia’s armed aggression and establishing a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine and ensuring security for the whole world.

In addition, the draft states that all armed formations of the aggressor state, as well as its Black Sea Fleet, should be completely withdrawn from the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, after regaining control over the Crimean peninsula, the Armed Forces and other security units will be deployed and operate in Crimea and Sevastopol, taking into account the need to ensure the security of not only Ukraine but also the entire Azov-Black Sea region. The document also refers to the conditions for the security of international civilian shipping in the region; restoration of the constitutional order in Crimea through the establishment of relevant bodies and democratic elections; 

Taking measures to ensure human rights and freedoms, including the restoration of the rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine, which have been systematically violated by the Russian Federation; restoring the activities of independent media and public associations in the de-occupied Crimea; overcoming the negative environmental consequences of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine; socio-cultural reintegration of the peninsula’s residents, as well as a number of other necessary actions on the part of the state. 

The statement also emphasises the activities of the International Crimea Platform, which should become a platform not only to facilitate the de-occupation of Crimea and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but also to ensure security in the Azov-Black Sea region as a whole. 

More information on the draft Statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is available here: https://cutt.ly/uwhTnclY