The president of the republic on Wednesday defended that any discussion about the future of Ukraine, excluding the issue of the Crimean peninsula, is “noise” disguised as support for the population of the invaded country.
“It is not possible to separate the Crimean issue from the total encroachment on the territory of Ukraine. Any attempt, subjective or objective, to separate the two issues represents no help, no support for the Ukrainian people, but noise that is unnecessary.”considered Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the opening of the top of the “Crimea platform” in Kiev.
The Portuguese head of state recalled that the aim of this platform was “the same from the beginning: to make people never forget Crimea”.
Everyone involved in this issue should remember that the goal is “restoring the territorial integrity” of Ukraine.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reinforced the Portuguese position: “Our border is the border of Ukraine.”
Flanked by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that the current conflict is inextricably linked to the 2014 invasion of Crimea, which the Russian Federation considers to be the first moment of violation of the territorial integrity of that country.
The president of the republic mentioned three points for a “long and lasting peace” in Europe.
“You cannot separate things that cannot be separated; we must 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,” he said.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also urged Moscow to stop the large-scale invasion that began more than a year and a half ago and whose end is not yet in sight, nor with a Ukrainian counter-offensive that has been going on for months, but with meager progress: “We want Russia to withdraw your troops immediately!”
Shortly before the intervention of the Portuguese head of state, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba ruled that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s two-day visit is “historic”.
Source: DN
