“For us, as part of the team of the President of Ukraine one of the key tasks is deoccupation and reintegration of Crimea. Therefore, for us, the Crimea Platform will end when the Ukrainian flag returns to where it should be: in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Bakhchisaray, and in other our cities.

So I think that on August 23 it all starts. This is not the culmination, this is the starting point of the movement. Therefore, of course, the Crimea Platform will end when Crimea returns to Ukrainian control.

It will be very important to introduce mechanisms in the first time of its work, which will allow this platform to work constantly, including the establishment of a permanent office of the Crimea Platform and it seems possible at first to talk either about proposals or about the implementation of certain projects aimed at deoccupation and reintegration of Crimea. Therefore, I think that August 23 is a really outstanding date for all those who deal with the Crimean issue. This date will officially mark the beginning of this great important work”, – Anton Korynevych, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Anton Korynevych on his own expectations from the Crimea Platform: “As of September last year, 16 delegations of foreign embassies have visited the administrative border with Crimea. There will be another visit tomorrow and we are constantly carrying out this activity. And you know, when they stand on this red line, and when they see not a few hundred, but a few tens of meters a large billboard where it is written: “Attention! State Border of the Russian Federation”, they all say that it is very important to understand what is really going on in Crimea and what Russia has done in Crimea and continues to do. It is not just Ukrainian history, it is a global history of the greatest violations of international law. And states that are accustomed to playing by the rules, accustomed to living on the principles enshrined in international instruments, of course, must respond to this. At the same time, I want to emhisize what Ms. Maria Mezentseva said, this emotion is very important in relation to the history of Crimea and the people in Crimea. 

I think we will use the Crimea Platform, in a good way, so that Crimea for foreign partners is not just an “A4” paper or an email, but a certain personal emotion and personal understanding and involvement. And, of course, I sincerely hope that we will be able to use the mechanisms of the Crimea Platform for the implementation of specific projects, on the basis of which our partners will see that real good things can be done to accelerate the deoccupation of Crimea”.

The following people also took part in the discussion:

• Snaver Seitkhaliliev, Deputy Minister for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories of Ukraine;
• Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People;
• Maria Mezentseva, Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to PACE, Deputy Head of the Committee on EU Integration;
• Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General at the Ukrainian Institute.

Moderator: Alina Frolova, Deputy Chairman, Centre for Defence Strategies, Former Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

More information about the All-Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine 30” can be found at: