Third Crimea Platform Summit in Riga Draws Over 70 Delegations

The third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimean Platform was held in Riga, the capital of Latvia, on 24 October, bringing together more than 70 delegations, including 36 heads of parliaments and representatives of international organisations in online and offline formats.

This year's summit was attended by representatives of a wide range of countries, many regions and international organisations. In particular, representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, delegations from Latvia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Estonia, France, Portugal, Canada, Lithuania, Austria, Finland, New Zealand, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Australia, Albania, Malta, Switzerland, Spain, Liechtenstein, Bulgaria, Tonga, and Serbia took part, Israel, Norway, the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro, Belgium, Sweden, Turkey, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Ghana, Argentina, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Moldova, Armenia, Iceland, Liberia, Chile, Malaysia, Guatemala, Comoros, the United States, Hungary and Georgia, and others.

Among the international organisations, representatives of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe, the European Union, ASEAN, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the OSCE took part.

The participants of the summit discussed current challenges related to the occupation of Crimea, human rights violations in the occupied territories and the international response to Russia's actions. The main topics of the meeting were the condemnation of Russian aggression, calls for the recognition of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people in 1944 as an act of genocide, and coordination of further actions with the international community to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

In a joint statement, the participants of the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimean Platform condemned the Russian war in Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. They declared their comprehensive further support for Ukraine aimed at restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity within the framework of international law, promoting the implementation of the President's Peace Formula, and supporting the introduction and further strengthening of sanctions against Russia.

The participants agreed on the relevant appeals to international organisations and the demand for the Russian Federation to immediately cease hostilities in Ukraine, liberate all temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

‘We emphasise the need to end the aggressive war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders in order to restore respect for the UN Charter and the norms and principles of international law. We call on other states and organisations to join the Crimean Platform,’ the document says.