U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won’t attend the inaugural summit of the Crimean Platform set to take place in Kyiv on Aug. 23.
The U.S. will instead be represented by a top government official, said interim U.S. Chargé d’Affaires George Kent on July 20 in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Kent didn’t name the official.
In April, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Christina Quinn said that the U.S. would be represented by a high-level official at the summit without going into details.
This is the first time the U.S. has made an official statement concerning the Biden administration’s representation at the Crimean Platform, an international diplomatic initiative aimed at bringing global attention back to the issue of Crimea, occupied by Russia since March 2014.
The first official meeting between Biden and President Volodymyr Zelensky will take place in Washington D.C. on Aug. 30.
In his interview, Kent said that the Crimean Platform must not become a one-off occurrence.
“It’s not just a question of what will happen on Aug. 23. It must be a gradual process. Because it’s just the beginning and not the end,” said Kent.
When asked about the platform’s potential to be successful and achieve its final aim – the de-occupation of Crimea – Kent said that the international community and diplomats shouldn’t forget about the situation in Crimea, as well as Russian occupied Donbas, Transnistria, Abkhazia, and Southern Ossetia.
The inaugural Crimean Platform summit will be held a day before Ukraine’s Independence Day celebration. Latvian President Egils Levits, Slovak President Zuzana Caputova and President of the European Council Charles Michel have already confirmed their attendance.
