Permanent Representative Tamila Tasheva met with Mati Raidma, a Member of the Parliament of Estonia, who visited the Mission yesterday.

During the meeting, Tamila Tasheva described the activities of the Mission. The main topic of discussion was the systematic persecution of Ukrainian citizens in Russian-occupied Crimea. The Permanent Representative emphasized the importance of bringing the Russian invaders to justice for their crimes, both for those they are committing now and those they perpetrated in the past. One of these crimes is the deportation-genocide of the Crimean Tatar people, committed by the Soviet totalitarian regime in 1944 as part of its longstanding colonialist policy.

According to the Permanent Representative, this colonialist policy of the Russians continues today in the form of illegal persecution, detention, and imprisonment of Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea. Ms. Tasheva emphasized that several countries, such as Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, and Canada, have already recognized the deportation as an act of genocide, and this is an essential step towards establishing justice. During the meeting, the Permanent Representative reminded that on May 8, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a Resolution on the Appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the governments and parliaments of foreign countries, international organizations, and parliamentary assemblies on their recognition of the deportation of Crimean Tatars from Crimea in 1944 as an act of genocide against the Crimean Tatar people.

Mr. Raidma supported the idea that crimes must be punished to prevent their recurrence. Mr. Raidma also discussed Estonia’s participation in the Crimea Platform Parliamentary Summit with the Permanent Representative. The Summit will be held in Riga in October 2024.

We thank Estonia for supporting Ukraine in various fields and participating actively in the Crimea Platform Summits!