The return of the Ukrainian flag to Crimea will mean the arrival of the European Union on the peninsula in the full sense of these words, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, speaking online at the Crimea Platform parliamentary summit on Tuesday.

"The arrival of the Ukrainian flag in Crimea is the arrival on the peninsula of the European Union in the full sense of these words, of all levels of our integration," he said.

"The return of the Ukrainian flag to Crimea is the return of the usual European ‘normalcy’ – safe, social, cultural. These are huge opportunities for development. All this does not exist in Crimea now, it cannot be. Russia has deprived our peninsula of development," the president said.

"The return of the Ukrainian flag is the protection of human rights, freedom for all people in Crimea, for all communities," he stressed.

To achieve this goal, Zelensky said, "we need sufficient support – defense, financial, sanctions - as the foundation for the future of Crimea." "Then, when we reach our borders, we will need your experience – on security, political, legal, social planes," he said, addressing the summit participants.

This will be necessary in order to "return a full life to Crimea, and I want justice for people in Crimea," Zelensky stressed.

"We must make our format a start for other humanitarian and political platforms, promote the de–occupation of other territories – from Transdniestria to the ‘northern territories’ [four Kuril Islands],” the president said.

"Promise me that you will definitely visit our Ukrainian Crimea as soon as we return the national flag there," Zelensky also said, addressing the summit participants.