Crimea Platform Expert Network warns against separate talks on Crimea, calls for Black Sea security measures

The Crimea Platform Expert Network issued a statement on September 24, 2025, calling for a unified international approach to all of Ukraine’s occupied territories. It rejected any separate negotiations on Crimea while demanding enhanced security measures in the Black Sea region.

The Expert Network welcomed the efforts of U.N. member states to ensure a lasting and just peace in Ukraine, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter. 

The statement, released during the Fifth Summit of the International Crimea Platform at U.N. headquarters, emphasized that all occupied Ukrainian regions — including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol, and parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions — must be treated as “parts of a single space of armed aggression” by Russia.

The expert network, representing civil society organizations focused on Crimea’s de-occupation, warned that separate negotiations would play into Russia’s approach of treating occupied territories as “special cases.”

“Any separate discussions on the ‘specific’ status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol or the Black Sea-Azov region carry the risk of fragmenting international solidarity,” the network stated.

The network condemned Russia’s continuing aggression against Ukraine and its attempts to occupy additional territories, calling it a blatant disregard for the post-World War II international legal order and international peace efforts.

The document also highlights that the large-scale and systematic policy pursued by Russia aimed at the destruction, devastation, and looting of Ukraine’s cultural and historical assets, as well as their use for ideological purposes to fuel aggression and legitimize armed occupation, which undermines the preservation of cultural heritage and identity of the regions and renders the process of post-conflict recovery impossible. 

The statement also addressed what it called Russia’s “genocidal policy” against Crimean Tatars, the peninsula’s indigenous people, citing discrimination and persecution aimed at destroying their identity.

The members of the expert network stated, among others, that the threat to European security created by Russia through the ongoing militarization of the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the use of the Peninsula as a platform for further aggression against Ukraine, and the destabilization of the Black Sea-Azov region.

“The Black Sea-Azov region is a strategic foundation for economic development not only for Ukraine, but also throughout the entire region. Control over sea routes, port logistics, and access to energy and food resources is critical for Europe’s post-war recovery and stability. In this context, the role of the Sea of Azov as an area of instability directly linked to the Black Sea and, indirectly, to the Caspian Sea, deserves special attention. The status of the Azov and Caspian Seas as areas of international importance shall be clearly articulated, with appropriate mechanisms for security control and free navigation,” the statement reads.

The Crimea Platform Expert Network emphasises the need to establish a new long-term security configuration for the Black and Azov Seas, which should include:

• Internationally verified restrictions on the Russian Federation’s military presence in the Black Sea for a specified period of time (for instance, 15–20 years),
• Creation of a special mechanism for monitoring maritime security with the participation of a coalition of Black Sea countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Georgia, Ukraine) and key partners (the United States, the United Kingdom),
• Introduction of a joint maritime presence of partner states with a mandate to protect commercial shipping, humanitarian corridors, and maritime infrastructure.

The network called for strengthened sanctions against Russia and affiliated entities, emphasizing that any peace negotiations must cover all Ukrainian territories and aim for their return to Ukrainian control.

By way of background, Russia tried to annex the peninsula in 2014 following a referendum that was not recognized by most of the international community. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is Ukrainian territory, despite military seizure by the Russian Federation. 

The diplomatic initiative Crimea Platform was established in 2021 as an international diplomatic initiative to coordinate efforts for Crimea’s de-occupation. The summit coincided with the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, with the network calling on member states to reaffirm their commitment to the U.N. Charter and international law.

The Crimea Platform Expert Network serves as one of the key working dimensions of the International Crimea Platform. The expert network brings together representatives from civil society organizations, academic institutions, think tanks, and policy experts from around the world who specialize in issues related to the Russian occupation of Crimea and its broader implications for international security and law.