Permanent Representative Tamila Tasheva held a working meeting with Apostolic Nuncio Visvaldas Kulbokas. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Permanent Representative Denys Chystikov and member of the Crimean Platform Expert Network Volodymyr Khoroshevskyi.

The Permanent Representative told the guests about the development of a vision of future reintegration processes on the de-occupied Crimean peninsula, and shared information about the difficulties of functioning of religious organizations under the occupation of Crimea and persecution on religious grounds.

The Pope’s Plenipotentiary asked a number of important questions, in particular about human rights violations on the occupied Crimean peninsula. Tamila Tasheva also drew his attention to the criminal persecution of Ukrainian citizens for religious and political reasons – often residents of the peninsula are accused of alleged “extremism” or “terrorism” just for their religion or for revealing the truth about the crimes of the occupation.

During the meeting, the Apostolic Nuncio noted that he shared the words of the President of Ukraine that Crimea is not just a territory, but first and foremost people. Father Visvaldas Kulbokas is convinced that Ukraine’s actions to protect its sovereignty are just and important for the global good.