Paweł Supernak/PAP
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, has praised the international community for having understood the significance of the illegal occupation of Crimea and all other areas that Moscow controls in Ukraine.
Our meeting today is living proof that the international community has understood the consequences for the entire world of Russia’s illegal occupation of the Crimean peninsula and all other areas in Ukraine,” President Duda said in a message to the Crimea Platform conference delivered by video on Wednesday.
According to the president, the occupation of Crimea is an ominous sign for the world that can materialise when international law, human rights and the UN Charter are not observed.
“Poland does not accept such a vision and will never approve it,” Duda said, adding that Poland had been standing with Ukraine since that moment in 2014 and calling for international security with that country.
“The events of March and April 2014 were for us a signal of Russia’s true plans for Ukraine, namely, the annexation of its territory, and the liquidation of its statehood, culture and language,” Duda continued.
He stated that no one now should believe that Crimea’s occupation was only a regional problem.
“This is a global problem. If we do not solve it jointly, this would, de facto, mean that we start approving a new architecture of international security and a new global order based on the right to use force,” he said.
According to Duda, an end to the occupation of Crimea and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity are the necessary conditions for the stability of the region and the global security architecture.
“Putin cannot be allowed to achieve his goals regarding Ukraine,” he said, adding that everything had to be done to make Crimea once again a part of Ukraine.
“Moscow must give back all the areas it occupies and must bear consequences of its actions,” the Polish president concluded.
Crimea was seized and annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move not recognised by most other countries.