‘No Surrender of Crimea to Russia’

With Crimea in the news recently and Russia and the USA using the Ukrainian peninsula as a soccer ball for their imperial purposes, I thought it would be appropriate to publish the latest statement of the Crimean Tatar People’s Mejilis, the highest representative body of the indigenous Crimean people of Ukraine, which categorically rejects recognizing Crimea as Russian. It was released on April 24, 2025.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People – the highest representative body of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people of Ukraine – categorically rejects any proposals or actions aimed at recognizing as Russian the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which are an integral part of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People warns that any attempts to recognize the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimean Peninsula as Russian, by whomever and for whatever purpose they are made, will mean:

• a gross violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, numerous resolutions of the UN General Assembly, and other fundamental norms of international law;

• encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a sovereign independent state with clearly defined internationally recognized borders, including Crimea and all other temporarily occupied territories;

• contempt and disregard for the inalienable rights of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, including the right to self-determination and participation in all decision-making processes concerning their native land;

• justification of all crimes committed against the indigenous Crimean Tatar people during the years of the colonial enslavement of Crimea by the Russian Empire;

• denial of the act of genocide against the Crimean Tatar people committed by the Soviet regime in 1944;

• encouraging the policy of ethnocide of the Crimean Tatar people, which is being carried out today by the bodies of the Russian occupation authorities, starting from the first day of the temporary occupation of Crimea in 2014, in the form of systematic pressure on the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and repressions against the inhabitants of Crimea - citizens of Ukraine, ethnically and politically motivated persecution of Crimean Tatars, banning the representative body of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people • the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, religious persecution, Russification and assimilation, destruction of cultural heritage, mass relocation of Russian citizens to the territory of Crimea in order to change the demographic and ethnic composition of the population of the Crimean peninsula;

• creating a precedent of impunity for the aggressor, when his violation of the internationally recognized borders of a sovereign state and the subsequent legitimation by other countries of the territories occupied by the aggressor will undermine the system of collective security built after World War II and which is based on the principles of peaceful coexistence, sovereign equality and inviolability of the borders of states, respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms. Such disregard for the norms of international law will be a bad signal for states, whose ruling regimes may also resort to the use of force and occupation of the territories of other states, hoping for their further legitimation.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People declares that the only legitimate way to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, establish a guaranteed and just peace in the region is the deoccupation of Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. Any other options threaten consequences in which the suffering of people, including the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, due to the violation of their fundamental rights may reach catastrophic proportions.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People call on the Governments and Parliaments of foreign states, international organizations, parliamentary associations, world politicians and moral authorities, international human rights and humanitarian organizations to show even greater solidarity with the struggle of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people for freedom, independence and the right to freely determine their future. Right now, decisive actions and measures to provide broad support to Ukraine in repelling Russian aggression will be of particular importance and consequences - military and economic assistance, strengthening sanctions, political and diplomatic pressure on the aggressor, providing legal protection to victims of Russian repression.

An example of a clear and verified position of the country, based on compliance with international law and the desire to achieve a just peace in the Russian-Ukrainian war, remains the Crimean Declaration, which was published by the US Department of State on July 25, 2018. We remain hopeful that the US position, stated in the Crimean Declaration as “…together with allies, partners, and the international community, the US rejects Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea and is committed to maintaining this policy until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored,” will not be subject to revision and revision.

The position of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People remains unchanged and consists of the following:

• unwavering commitment to the struggle for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the right of the Crimean Tatar people to self-determination in the form of national-territorial autonomy of Crimea within the independent Ukrainian state;

• categorical rejection of attempts to recognize Crimea as Russian territory – neither de facto nor de jure and from whomever side they were made;

• declaring illegal any agreements on the status of Crimea concluded and adopted without the participation and consent of the Ukrainian state and the indigenous Crimean Tatar people;

• reserving the right to initiate international consultations with leading states and organizations – the UN, EU, Council of Europe, OSCE, NATO) to prevent the legitimization of the occupation;

• strengthening the efforts of the participating countries of the International Crimean Platform and implementing comprehensive steps for the de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Crimea is Ukraine!

Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of Crimea and Ukraine, and an integral part of the Ukrainian political nation!

Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov April 24, 2025