African ambassadors visit occupied Crimea - Ukraine's Foreign Ministry reacts
Photo: Ambassadors from Africa arrived in occupied Crimea (Russian media)
Ambassadors from three African countries, Chad, Guinea, and Burundi, arrived in the occupied Crimea. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) strongly condemned the illegal visit in its statement.
Visit by ambassadors
According to Crimean Tatar media, on July 28, ambassadors from three African countries arrived in Crimea, temporarily occupied by Russia.
The diplomats are Joseph Nkurunziza from Burundi, Nyankoya Habu from Guinea, and Adam Beshir Mahamoud from Chad. This marks their first official visit to the peninsula.
During the meeting, they were presented with the economic, industrial, and scientific potential of the occupied peninsula.
MFA's reaction
"This visit is a blatant violation of international law, including UN General Assembly resolutions, particularly resolution 68/262 on Ukraine's territorial integrity, as well as Ukrainian legislation," the statement says.
The MFA emphasized that these actions contradict principles of respect for sovereignty and undermine international efforts to establish a just and lasting peace.
The statement added that Russia uses diplomats from third countries for propaganda and to create the illusion of "recognition" of the illegal occupation of the peninsula.
Ukraine called on foreign diplomats to strictly adhere to international law norms, respect Ukraine's territorial integrity, and refrain from actions that could be interpreted as endorsing the aggressor country's crimes.
The MFA urged the governments of the respective states to assess the behavior of their representatives and warned that Ukraine reserves the right to take political and diplomatic measures, including adding these individuals to sanctions lists.
Occupation of Crimea
Eleven years ago, Russia began the occupation of Crimea by seizing military units. By late winter 2014, Russia secretly deployed troops and equipment to the peninsula. From February 27, Ukrainian forces were left without secure communications and could only communicate with higher command in Kyiv via unsecured channels.
