In the final declaration of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit, which was held today in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is condemned, and support for that country, its territorial integrity, European integration and membership in NATO is expressed.
"Without a free and peaceful Ukraine, there is no free and peaceful Europe," was the conclusion of the summit declaration, Hina agency reported.
The declaration reminds that almost 1000 days have passed since the beginning of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
"We condemn in the strongest terms this unprovoked, unjustified and illegal Russian war of conquest against Ukraine... a crime against the Ukrainian people, a clear violation of international law... and a great threat to the peace and security of Southeast Europe, the entire European continent and the world," the declaration reads.
The main goal of the meeting, which was jointly organized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, was to show the support of the countries of the region to Ukraine.
In addition to Zelenski and Plenković, representatives of 12 countries participated in the summit, including the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović, Serbia's Aleksandar Vučić, Slovenia's Nataša Pirc Musar and Kosovo's Vjosa Osmani.
In the text of the declaration, it is emphasized that the support of the participants of the meeting for Ukrainian independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders continues to be "absolute". The participants confirmed their support for the peace formula of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which they consider a key framework for restoring peace.
The declaration calls on the international community to increase support for Ukraine and "all countries not to provide material or other assistance to Russia's war of conquest."
The participants condemned and qualified "Russia's attempts to violently and illegally annex the territory of Ukraine" the elections that Moscow held in the occupied Ukrainian regions in March and September, calling them "null and void", Hina reported.
The declaration welcomes the opening of accession negotiations between the EU and Ukraine, as well as the fact that NATO at the summit in Washington "reiterated its commitment to support Ukraine on its irreversible path towards full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership".
"We reiterate our firm commitment to bring to justice the individuals responsible for the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Russian war of conquest," the declaration reads.
The text emphasizes the crucial importance of Ukraine's energy security, whose "power plants and energy network are suffering enormous damage due to Russian systematic and deliberate attacks."
"We emphasize that any use of nuclear energy and nuclear facilities must be safe, protected and acceptable for the environment. In this context, we emphasize that the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant must return to the full sovereign control of Ukraine and operate safely," the declaration states.
The participants expressed their commitment to participate in the current and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine "to ensure its prosperous future".
The summit in Dubrovnik is the third summit meeting in this format, after such meetings were held in Athens and Tirana.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Bulgarian Dimitar Glavčev, Albanian Edi Rama, Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Borjana Kristo and North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski were also present at the summit.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Turkey and Romania are also in Dubrovnik.
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