The European Union is studying Ukraine's proposal to create a "Crimean platform" and an EU special representative for Crimea, and is awaiting additional information on the structure of the platform, EU Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano has said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.

Ukraine has presented the idea of an "International Crimean Platform" to the EU and several major international parties, he said. In this context, among other things, Ukraine has put forward the idea of creating an EU special representative for Crimea. As stated in the joint statement at the Ukraine-EU summit on October 6, 2020, we welcome diplomatic efforts aimed at restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and are studying in detail Ukraine's proposals on this matter, the official noted.

Stano stressed that the EU and Ukraine are fighting the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula through many bilateral and multilateral channels and at different levels, including the political one. He said they did not and would not recognize the illegal annexation, which is a violation of international law.

In addition, the representative of European diplomacy pointed out that while they look forward to more information on how Ukraine would like to structure the platform, the EU non-recognition policy already offers a reliable and well-implemented toolkit that helps move towards the goals set by Ukraine and that are in line with the goals of the EU policy of non-recognition in general.