Polish President Andrzej Duda has declared the need to liberate the entire territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, from the Russian occupation.
The statement was made in Kyiv during the second summit of Crimea platform, according to “European Pravda.”.
“Crimea is Ukraine. Just as Gdańsk or Lublin are part of Poland, Crimea is and will be part of Ukraine,” Duda said in Ukrainian.
As long as Russia is at war with Ukraine and occupies Ukrainian territory, it can never return to business as usual – he stated.
“We can’t go back to the line that was in place on 23 February. The entire territory of Ukraine must be liberated, including Crimea,” Duda said.
He noted that he had not personally visited Crimea, but recalled how the poet Adam Mickiewicz wrote about it. “Since 2014, I began to think that I missed this opportunity. But in 2022, I began to believe that I would see the Ukrainian Crimea. I believe, Mr. Volodymyr [Zelenskyy – ed.], that you will show me Crimea,” said the Polish president.
The Crimea Platform was established in 2021 to facilitate international consultations and coordination for the liberation of Crimea. The first summit was held last year, also on 23 August, in Kyiv.
47 countries and international organizations participated in the meeting, which approved a joint intergovernmental decision on reuniting Crimea with Ukraine.
