To date, some 28 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the Crimean Platform inaugural summit, which will be held in Kyiv on August 23, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

"As of today, 28 countries and international organizations have already confirmed their participation in the Crimean Platform summit. This will be an unprecedented international event in the history of Ukraine. Never before has so many states gathered in Ukraine to hold such an event at the level of presidents, prime ministers, heads parliaments, members of government," Kuleba said at an online briefing on Wednesday.

According to him, this result already allows us to say with confidence that Ukraine has managed to form the core of the international coalition for the liberation of Crimea.

"Although you have no idea how powerful and systemic the opposition from Russia is. They work in every capital, in every country, discouraging states from taking part in the Crimean Platform. But we are doing our job, we have our own power of truth, the power of diplomacy and already we were able to form this core of the coalition," the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

He said that Ukraine expects all leading partner countries of Ukraine in Europe and North America to participate in the Crimean Platform summit.

"The Crimean Declaration has almost been agreed upon. This is the final document of the summit, which will fix the fundamentally important provisions for Ukraine. Along the way, I want to thank our partners who took an active part in the work on the declaration and supported those fundamental things that Ukraine promoted and insisted on. We already at the finish line to the success of the Crimean Platform," Kuleba said.

He informed that the summit will be the beginning of the persistent and long-term work of the Crimean platform aimed at protecting the norms and principles of international law in the interests of both Ukraine and the entire world community.

"I emphasize that the summit will not be a one-time event, it will be regular work at many levels. We are currently working on developing a long-term concept of the platform's work in each of the five priority areas. The first is the policy of non-recognition, the second is sanctions, and the third is security in Azov and Black Sea region, the fourth is the protection of human rights and international humanitarian law, the fifth is the environmental and economic consequences of the Russian occupation of Crimea," Kuleba said.

The minister said that progress on the de-occupation of Crimea will serve as an important element of the broader policy of the international community to address the frozen conflicts in Europe.

"Crimea has already become a suitcase without a handle for Russia. The Crimean Platform will turn it into an unbearable load," Kuleba said.