On July 13, Permanent Representative Tamila Tasheva met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Ukraine Helene Sand Andersen and Minister-Counselor of the Embassy Jan Flete.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Permanent Representative Denys Chystikov and Head of the Crimean Platform Support Service within the Mission Maria Tomak.

The Permanent Representative thanked for the comprehensive support of the Kingdom of Norway to Ukraine in countering military aggression, in particular in political, military and humanitarian aspects, and emphasized the involvement of the Norwegian government in the G7 initiative to assist Ukraine.

Ms. Andersen was interested in the Mission’s powers and activities, plans and developments on de-occupation and reintegration. “It is important for us to maintain such communication and understand how we can further cooperate within the mandate of the Mission,” said the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

The meeting focused on the role of regional and international human rights organizations in the context of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine in monitoring and documenting war crimes and crimes against humanity in the temporarily occupied Crimea. They discussed the threats and challenges faced by Ukrainian citizens because of their pro-Ukrainian position and the use of national symbols on the peninsula.

“We are constantly monitoring the human rights situation in Crimea, maintaining contacts with the residents of the occupied peninsula, developing policies for the reintegration of Crimea after its de-occupation, we have a vision of all these processes, because we understand that Crimea will be de-occupied and we must be ready for it,” emphasized Ms. Tasheva.

For reference: On June 21, 2023, Ms. Ambassador presented her credentials to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and officially began her term in Ukraine. Helene Sand Andersen has extensive experience in the field of human rights, including work in the OSCE.

The Mission has been fruitfully cooperating with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Ukraine since 2021, in particular, the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Ukraine Erik Svedal participated in events organized by the Crimean Platform Office and visited the administrative border with the temporarily occupied Crimea.