Any discussion on the future of Ukraine that excludes the issue of the Crimean peninsula is noise disguised as support for the people of the invaded country, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sous argued on Wednesday.
“It is not possible to separate the issue of Crimea from the total invasion of Ukraine’s territory. Any attempt, subjective or objective, to separate the two issues represents not help, not support for the Ukrainian population, but noise that is unnecessary,” Rebelo de Sousa said at the opening of the “Crimea Platform” summit in Kyiv.
The Portuguese head of state recalled that the aim of this platform “was the same from the start: never to let people forget Crimea”.
He added that all those involved in this issue must remember that the goal is “the recovery of the territorial integrity” of Ukraine, recalling Portugal’s position of “Our border is Ukraine’s border.”
Flanked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Rebelo de Sousa insisted that the war was inextricably linked to the 2014 invasion of Crimea, considered the first moment of violation of the country’s territorial integrity by Russia.
“We cannot separate issues that cannot be separated; we can never forget that people are the reason for our common struggle for territorial integrity, sovereignty, democracy and freedom; we cannot forget that there is no freedom and democracy without social cohesion, without growth. And development means social justice, even for Crimea,” Portugal’s president added.
Rebelo de Sousa also called on Moscow to stop the large-scale invasion that began more than a year and a half ago. “We want Russia to withdraw its troops immediately!”
Shortly before the Portuguese head of state spoke, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called Rebelo de Sousa’s two-day visit “historic”.
Zelenskyy, for his part, said that “Portugal’s voice is politically important” and thanked his Portuguese counterpart for his visit to Kyiv and thanked Portugal for its support in various areas, such as munitions.
He added that Portugal has supported Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion and that it stands by Ukraine “in holding Russia accountable” for the crime of aggression.
“Victory on the battlefield is very important; people are dying, and countries are helping,” commented Zelenskyy on the eve of the one-and-a-half-year anniversary of the war.
(André Campos Ferrão, edited by Cristina Cardoso | Lusa.pt)
Read more with EURACTIV
Spain’s right-wing PM hopeful given a month ahead of first investiture debate
Source: euractiv.com
