The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine decided not to name the countries whose leaders agreed to come to Ukraine for the constituent summit of the "Crimean Platform," which will be held on August 23, so as not to increase the emotions of Russia, but a number of countries have already confirmed their participation at the highest level, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova has said.

"We decided that we would not announce the countries that have already agreed to come to the founding summit, since Russia said that this is a threat to its territorial integrity and security. Therefore, in order not to increase the emotions of Russia, we decided not to make this information public. However, President of the EU Council Charles Michel publicly announced that he will come and support this initiative. This is the only thing we can say so far. However, a number of countries have already agreed on their participation at the highest level, so we are actively preparing for the summit, which will be held on August 23," Dzhaparova told Interfax-Ukraine in an exclusive interview.

According to her, the summit will have several components, tentatively, the scenario assumes an official part, during which the President of Ukraine, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Prime Minister and the heads of delegations will speak.

"We are planning thematic expert discussions, as well as public diplomacy events closely related to Crimea. Undoubtedly, there will be a speech by the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, and this is very important, because there is a disproportionate track of persecution of Crimean Tatars for many reasons, history and the fact that the only bone across the throat in Crimea for Russia is the Crimean Tatar people because of their self-government agencies, their powerful system of organizations, which has been fixed since the times of the Soviet Union," the deputy minister said.

Dzhaparova said it is also planned to adopt a final document during the summit.

"We are in the process of negotiations with our partners, this is such joint creativity. Since each country, before deciding whether to join the document or not, must go through it and understand that it does not contradict his vision. We are now jointly trying as much as possible to draft such a document, which will be based on important principles of international law, so that it does not contradict the policies of other states. Now communication is in a very active stage and in the near future we will finalize it," she said.

According to her, this document should confirm support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders, officially establish the Crimean Platform, and determine the foundations of an international strategy for the de-occupation of Crimea.

"I would also like to note that we are working in various areas in terms of improving the analytical capabilities of our experts on such priorities: ecology, economy, security, militarization, international humanitarian law, human rights, Crimean Tatars, as an identity, as a people. These are a number of priority areas, which are already being processed in a focused way and will be processed in the next year after the summit," she said.

Dzhaparova said the Foreign Ministry is now inviting the top leadership of the countries to take part in the summit.

"It is important for us to hold this event physically, because there is a pandemic, there is still a travel ban, not everyone is ready to come, since for some countries this is still a pressing issue due to the lack of access to a vaccine or the risks that physical travel can carry. However, we are still working with the fact that this is a physical summit and that the level of representation of countries is the highest," the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine said.

Dzhaparova said the summit of heads of state and government is a significant event, and it will not be annual. During the summit, the activities of the platform will be formally established, further its activities will take place both at the official level (heads of state and government, foreign ministers, parliaments) and at the level of experts.

"Our goal is to ensure synergy of activities at these levels and between them, to form an international coalition for the de-occupation of Crimea and the creation of an appropriate international strategy. Concrete measures at the national and international levels will be aimed at achieving this goal, towards which we will move in the following priority areas: non-recognition policy; security, including freedom of navigation; application of restrictive measures; protection of human rights and international humanitarian law; economic and environmental impact of the occupation," she said.

Dzhaparova also spoke about the plans, within the Crimean platform, to establish an annual Forum on the security of the Azov-Black Sea and Mediterranean regions.

"This year the Forum will be held in the autumn, and preparations for its holding have already started," the deputy minister said.