Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that Ukraine will never accept the occupation of Crimea and will do everything possible to protect the rights of the Crimean Tatars.
“Ukraine will never agree with the occupation of Crimea and will never give one of the indigenous people of our homeland to the wolves. We will struggle for the rights, national and political freedoms of the Crimean Tatars. Crimea is not a military base, not the “pride of Russian sailors”. It is an integral part of Ukraine. It is a unique region, a jewel of world civilization, the cradle of the Crimean Tatars. It is their legal and globally recognized homeland,” Poroshenko said during his speech at an event to mark the 71st anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars held in Kyiv on May 18.
Poroshenko noted with regret that in February 2014, due to the occupation of the peninsula, the Crimean Tatars faced another threat to their national homeland. They faced new repression and the deprivation of their fundamental political rights and human freedoms.
“Last year, Ukraine and the whole world saw the force emerge that wants to revive the Soviet empire of evil, rehabilitate Stalin and rewrite history,” he added.
