On October 23, during the side-event held within the framework of the
Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform, Andris Teikmanis
joined the event as a speaker, expressing solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people and condemning the crimes of the occupation “authorities”.
“Within the framework of the Crimea Platform Parliamentary Summit, I would like to note that the deportation of Crimean Tatars is a crime against humanity, and it is important that all countries recognize this. All states must comply with international law, despite the different opinions in the European Union on crimes against humanity,” –
Teikmanis emphasized.
Egils Levits, a Latvian diplomat and head of the Latvian President’s
Office, reminded that Latvians also experienced several waves of
deportations to Siberia during the Soviet occupation. However, there
is a difference: those who survived returned after Stalin’s death,
while Crimean Tatars were able to return to their homeland only after
1991.
“For many Europeans, these issues remain on the periphery of their attention because they are far from their place of residence, which is why the political will to act is much weaker. That is why it is important to support countries that choose the path of justice. The Saeima of the Republic of Latvia became the first parliament after the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to recognize the deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide,” -Teikmanis emphasized.
As a reminder, the Crimea Platform is an international diplomatic
initiative launched by Ukraine in 2021 to coordinate international
efforts aimed at deoccupation of Crimea, protecting the rights of the
peninsula’s residents, especially Crimean Tatars, and bringing Russia
to justice for crimes committed in the occupied territory.