Ukraine welcomes the Resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 4 February which strongly condemns the Russian illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol, and underlines unaccepted curtailment of the fundamental human rights at the peninsula by the occupying authorities.

We confirm facts, set forth in the Resolution, and share deep concern of the European Parliament on unprecedented critical situation with the human rights at the peninsula, systematic attacks of the Russian occupying authorities against human rights and fundamental freedoms of those persons who disagree with their policies, first of all, of the Crimean tatars and ethnic Ukrainians, suppression of any democratic manifestation and freedoms in the Crimea, including free media functioning. A special attention in the EP Resolution is paid to the increasing limitations of the educational, cultural and linguistic rights of the Crimean tatars and Ukrainians.

A particular threat in this context is seen in the violent imposition of the Russian citizenship in the territory of the occupied Crimea and politically motivated criminal persecution of the Crimean tatars’ leaders and Ukrainian activists. In this regard we support the EP call to Russia to release Oleg Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Akhtem Chiygoz, Ali Asanov and other illegally detained persons.

We are grateful to the members of the European Parliament for their support of the Ukrainian call to the aggressor state to provide unhindered access of the international institutions and independent experts from the OSCE, UN, Council of Europe, non-governmental organizations and media to the occupied Crimea to explore the situation with the human rights.

An important message is the confirmation of the EU and its member states’ commitments to their policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol. The European Parliament has recalled that only restoration of the full control of the state authorities of Ukraine at the peninsula will be one of the prerequisites for resuming cooperation with the Russian Federation, including the suspension of the related sanctions.

The European Parliament joined the firm demands of Ukraine and the whole international community to the Russian Federation to withdraw all Russian troops from Crimea and Donbas, and condemned continuing militarization of the Crimean peninsula.  The Russian intentions to deploy nuclear weapons in the territory of Crimea pose a threat to regional and global security.

Ukraine is grateful to the European Parliament for its support of the initiative to launch an international mechanism of negotiations aimed at restoration of the Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea in the “Geneva plus” format with the direct involvement of the EU institutions to this process and for its call to the Russian Federation to start negotiations on the de-occupation of Crimea.