Participants in Monday's inaugural summit of the Crimean Platform sent a message that Ukraine was not alone, that the international community would not recognise the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and that the purpose of the platform would be to seek a solution to that issue through joint efforts.

The host of the platform’s inaugural meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Ukraine needed international support to halt the aggression from Russia.

In his remarks President Zelensky promised to “do everything possible to return Crimea, so that together with Ukraine, Crimea becomes part of Europe.”

Zelensky called for considering the imposition of additional political and diplomatic sanctions on Russia in the case of further aggression. “We should consider sanctions, reinforced protection of human rights, we must consider the economic and environmental consequences of the occupation.”

The forum brought together representatives of 45 countries and organisations, and they agreed that the occupation of Crimea was illegal and unacceptable.

“Crimea is Ukraine,” said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in his address at the summit meeting.

He reiterated Croatia’s support to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and warned about the violation of rights of residents in Crimea: Crimean Tatars, Ukrainians, minorities and members of religious and other communities.

The international community expects Russia to fully comply with the international humanitarian law, said Plenkovic who gave a part of his speech in Ukrainian.

Plenkovic also offered Croatia’s assistance to Ukraine and underscored Croatia’s experience in the peaceful reintegration of occupied areas without casualties.

“Crimea is Ukraine and I am glad to be here with you for this first Crimean Platform Summit, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence,” said the European Council President Charles Michel.

“And I will go straight to the point: independence means sovereignty; and it means territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. I am here to reaffirm the EU’s unwavering stance: we do not and will not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia. We will continue to staunchly enforce our non-recognition policy. And we will stand tall against any violations of international law,” Michel said.

“We want to reiterate that Ukraine will never be alone and that Crimea is Ukraine,” he underscored.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that this was not only about a territory but also about people.

The secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic-Buric, called for the release of political prisoners and for the cessation of violation of human rights.

Addressing the press after the inaugural meeting, PM Plenkovic said that there was some possibility of Russia sitting at the negotiating table, and added that this initiative was primarily directed at the Crimea whereas the so-called Normandy Format was set up to deal with the issue of Donetsk and Lugansk.

“Our aim is to prevent situations causing any new victims and negotiations can result in solutions,” Plenkovic said in his comment on the current developments in Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Zelensky, who announced the launch of the Crimean Platform last year, has recently said that the platform intended to address the issue of the militarisation of that peninsula, the liberation of more than 1000 Ukrainians who are political prisoners, and to consider the status of Crimean Tatars.

The joint declaration adopted at today’s inaugural meeting emphasises the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its independence and reaffirms the commitment to establishing a framework of the international politics for Crimea.