Europe does not officially recognize Crimea as Russian and legalizes the confiscation of Russian assets

The PACE reaffirmed its non-recognition of Crimea as Russian and called for accountability not only for the Russian leadership, but also for Belarus and North Korea. The resolution calls for the creation of a special tribunal, war crimes investigations and legitimizes the confiscation of frozen assets of the Russian Federation to help Ukraine.

This was announced by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko.

The document clearly confirms that Crimea is not recognized as Russian, which is important in the context of Russia's claims during the negotiations. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has decided that countries should investigate and prosecute their citizens who have committed war crimes in Ukraine. They also decided that the International Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor should bring new charges for torture, abduction of civilians and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Screenshot: PACE

They also approved the need to urgently establish a special tribunal, regardless of the progress of peace negotiations. In addition, they decided that the register of losses and the compensation mechanism should cover all losses caused by Russia since 2014, not just since the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022.

It was decided that the political and military leadership of Russia, Belarus, and North Korea will be held personally criminally liable for crimes against Ukraine, regardless of their positions. In addition, the PACE approved the legitimacy of redirecting Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine.

Recently, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation supported the Crimean Tatars who are suffering from repression during the Russian occupation of Crimea. The member states call for an end to the persecution, the release of leaders and security for the Muslim community.

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People's address to the participants of the 51st OIC session emphasized that Russia has turned Crimea, the historic land of the Crimean Tatars and a significant center of Islam, into a military base for further aggression against Ukraine.

Анна Літман