Ukraine Reiterates Claim To Crimea At Int'l Summit

More than seven years after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stressed his country's claim to the Black Sea peninsula at an international summit, Andreas Stein and Ulf Mauder reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Photo Insert: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Crimea Platform. Also seen in the photo is EU Council President Charles Michel.

From now on, the "countdown for the de-occupation" of the Black Sea peninsula is underway, Zelensky said on Monday at the first meeting of the so-called Crimea Platform in Kiev.

He lamented the fact that Russia had turned Crimea from a holiday and recreation region into an ecologically endangered military base over the past seven years.

"Crimea was a guarantee of international stability and is now a powder keg," he said.

Russia had incorporated the territory into its national territory in 2014 after a military invasion in defiance of international protests.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the meeting, which was attended by representatives from more than 40 states including some heads of state, as a "Witches' Sabbath."

According to a statement by his ministry, German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier reiterated "that the German government, together with its EU partners, is firmly committed to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and to the non-recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea, which is contrary to international law, as well as to the maintenance of the Crimean sanctions on Russia."

EU Council President Charles Michel said, "Our task is to ensure that the annexation is never legalized."

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