“The Ukrainian side sees it to be impossible to return the Russian delegation to the PACE without having implemented the Assembly’s resolutions,” – Iryna Herashchenko
On September 19, Iryna Herashchenko, the First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met Marko Mihkelson, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Estonia.
The First Vice-Speaker thanked for the firm position demonstrated by the Estonian Parliament over the issue of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The participants of the meeting discussed the security and humanitarian situation in the occupied Donbas and Crimea.
I.Herashchenko informed her vis-a-vis about the registration of a draft mine action law, and told about the work of the Minsk groups, stressing a mere lack of progress in the release of hostages and the search for missing persons.
She emphasized the risks that arose in the negotiation process due to the Kremlin's intentions to hold fake "elections" in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine: "This is against the law of Ukraine, the letter and spirit of the Minsk accords".
The politician also stressed the importance of deploying a UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas.
The politicians deliberated coordination of efforts to oppose Russia’s propaganda and hybrid war at international platforms and inter-parliamentary assemblies.
It was pointed out there is certain concern about the intentions of some PACE delegations to change at the October session the Assembly’s rules of procedure to create grounds for Russia’s return. The Ukrainian delegation insists upon a mandatory prerequisite - implementation of the PACE’s resolutions and the Minsk agreements by the Russian Federation. Parliamentarians urged their Estonian colleagues to support this position at the Assembly.
In his turn, the Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Marko Mihkelson assured of the support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and expressed particular interest in the situation over the Donbas, the Crimea, and the Sea of Azov. He then stressed that Estonia would continue to support humanitarian projects for the affected regions and categories of the population.
The meeting was also attended by Mariia Ionova, MP, deputy head of the Committee on European Integration of the Ukrainian Parliament.