The head of the Belgian Foreign Ministry explained her visit to occupied Crimea and admitted she had broken Ukrainian law
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Hadja Lahbib explained her visit to the occupied Crimea at a meeting with her Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba and acknowledged the violation when crossing the border.
It is stated in a joint statement of the MFAs of Ukraine and Belgium following the meeting, European Pravda reports.
"Minister Lahbib clarified her trip to Ukraine (Crimea): last year, as a journalist and documentary filmmaker, she visited the city of Sevastopol in Crimea in violation of Ukrainian legislation.
As a documentary filmmaker, she embodied a project demonstrating how russia used culture as power and propaganda and how artists could live under oppression during such a difficult historical period. She sincerely regrets that this visit took place under such circumstances. Minister Labib has always defended Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as well as the status of Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine," the statement said.
Lahbib personally assured of Belgium's support and readiness to contribute to the return of peace and reconstruction of Ukraine.
"Minister Kuleba congratulated Belgium's sincere and dedicated commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as its contribution to it," the statement said.
The negotiations took place in Prague, where an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers was taking place.
Kuleba and Lahbib agreed to hold the next meeting at the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss possible bilateral projects in support of Ukraine.
The joint statement does not mention the possibility of a visit to Kyiv, even though Lahbib had previously expressed such a desire.
It should be recalled that it recently became known that Hadja Lahbib went to the occupied Crimea in the summer of 2021 for the "Global Values" festival, organized by the Sevastopol Academic russian Drama Theater named after Lunacharsky.
She did not hide this fact and openly talked about the trip on social networks and television, but it did not become widely publicized before she was appointed the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Already in her position, on the Day of Ukrainian Statehood, Lahbib wrote a letter to her Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba, expressing her support for Ukraine, emphasizing Crimea and Donbas belong to Ukraine.
