According to the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the PACE Maria Mezentseva, a group of PACE parliamentarians circulated among the delegates of the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe the statement on the provocations of the Russian Federation and the escalation of hostilities against Ukraine, which emphasizes the failure of peaceful efforts to resolve the situation in Eastern Ukraine.
The statement calling for an end to military provocations
and escalation was signed by parliamentarians from the national delegations of
Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, Georgia, Romania and
Azerbaijan.
“With the latest steps, in particular the recent refusal to restore ceasefire commitments, Russia is demonstrating its reluctance to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine peacefully. On the contrary, Russia is openly undermining peace efforts by unjustifiably relocating its troops, while constantly blaming Ukraine and denying its involvement in Donbas,” reads the statement, open for signature.
The parliamentarians are "seriously concerned about the increase in ceasefire violations by Russian-backed groups, the growing number of casualties, and, in particular, a constant build-up and concentration of excessive military forces in the immediate vicinity of Ukraine's borders and on the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula." "All this undermines the overall stability and security on our continent," the document reads.
The parliamentarians call on Russia to stop provocations, end the blockade of the Kerch Strait, and start de-escalating the situation, as well as dispel all concerns, being completely transparent and providing information about its military activities in accordance with the risk reduction mechanism of the Vienna Document as required by Ukraine.
The signatories of the document welcome Ukraine’s unwavering commitment to a political settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the restraint shown by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"We call on Russia to adhere to the principles and
commitments of the OSCE, as well as the spirit and letter of its statutory
obligations to the Council of Europe," the delegates of the Assembly said
and called on Russia to stop disinformation provocations and cyberattacks, as
well as attacks on social networks on Ukraine.
"We, the undersigned, must take the provocations of the Russian Federation and the escalation of hostilities seriously and send a very clear signal to Russia that if Russia is refused, serious consequences, including sanctions, will be expected," the Assembly said.
The document was prepared and disseminated in the PACE at the initiative of the Ukrainian delegation and with the support of members of the informal group Baltic Plus.