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Lavrov slams Ukraine’s Crimea Platform forum as empty endeavor with no prospects

It is not surprising that the falsely interpreted solidarity of EU members and NATO allies formed the backbone of this hollow propaganda venture that has no prospects whatsoever, the Russian foreign minister pointed out

BUDAPEST, August 24. /TASS/. The Crimea Platform initiative of the Kiev authorities has risen from the falsely interpreted solidarity of EU and NATO members and therefore has no prospects, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a press conference following talks with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

"I would like to say that we are aware of the methods used to force allies to join such pointless stunts. Therefore, it is not surprising to us that this falsely interpreted solidarity of EU members and NATO allies formed the backbone of this hollow propaganda venture that has no prospects whatsoever," the minister said.

When asked about remarks by the Hungarian leadership about Crimea, the Russian minister stressed that Moscow is advancing its relations with Budapest "on the realpolitik basis" which was exactly what the sides did at the talks.

"Of course, [the Crimea Platform] is a Russophobic endeavor which is artificially created," Lavrov continued. "They will try to fan these sentiments to play to ultraradical neo-Nazi manifestations in modern Ukraine. Both the Kiev authorities and leaders of the Western world pander to these manifestations."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced the creation of the Crimea Platform in September 2020. Kiev says the forum aims to coordinate international efforts to return Crimea back to Ukraine. Organizers announced that the first meeting of this format was attended by representatives of a little over 40 countries and international organizations.