“It is impossible — indeed, unacceptable — to consider the status of Crimea as an abstract geopolitical issue, detached from the issue of the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state and from the right of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, who are the rightful owners of this land,” — Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People.

In his speech, Refat Chubarov emphasized that Crimea is not merely a territory on a map, but the only home, heart, and soul of the Crimean Tatar people. He urged the international community to realize that the true de-occupation of the peninsula must involve not only the restoration of borders but also the restoration of historical justice, the guarantee of the indigenous people’s right to self-determination within Ukraine, and the release of all political prisoners persecuted by the Russian occupation regime.