Organised jointly by the Czech and Ukrainian parliaments, this parliamentary conference is a follow-up to the
first parliamentary summit of the Crimea Platform held in Croatia in 2022, which was attended by then National Council President Irène Kälin (The Greens, AG).
The participants will adopt a joint statement condemning the illegal occupation of Crimea, which will be issued after the summit. The parliamentary summit will also be an opportunity for Mr Candinas and Ms Herzog to hold bilateral meetings and exchange information with their counterparts present in Prague.
The Crimea Platform is a Ukrainian initiative to keep the international community’s attention focused on the political situation in Crimea. It aims to enhance the coordination and effectiveness of the international response to the occupation of Crimea, in particular in relation to the sanctions against Russia.
Parliamentary relations between Switzerland and Ukraine are characterised by regular exchanges and meetings, which have intensified further since Russia's military aggression. In April 2022, Ms Kälin, and National Council members Roger Nordmann (SP/VD), Nik Gugger (EVP/ZH) and Yves Nidegger (SVP/GE)
visited the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv to demonstrate Switzerland’s support for the Ukrainian people. And, in July 2022, a large parliamentary delegation from Switzerland, led by Ms Kälin, took part in the
Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, where Swiss and Ukrainian parliamentarians were able to discuss the status of the parliamentary reform process in Ukraine and its central role in the country’s recovery.