On April 19, Artur Gerasymov, Deputy Chairperson of the OSCE PA Committee on Economy, Science, Technology and Environment, Deputy Head of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the OSCE PA, took part in the video conference meeting of the OSCE PA Bureau.
The key issues on the agenda of the OSCE PA Bureau were the report of the current President of the OSCE PA Lord Bowness, Secretary General of the Assembly Roberto Montella, discussion of the Organization's activities during the pandemic, the current political and security situation in the OSCE region.
The keynote speakers and participants of the discussion, members of the Bureau focused in their speeches on the activities of the OSCE PA in the regime of video conferences during the pandemic and other areas of activity, including election observation, the new Helsinki 50 Plus initiative, which aims to improve the work of the Organization, the Assembly's budget, as well as the situation with frozen conflicts in the region, political events in Russia and Belarus, the development of the situation with the Navalny case, extension of the mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and aggravation of the situation in Eastern Ukraine.
Artur Gerasymov, Deputy Head of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the OSCE PA, told members of the Bureau about the escalation of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, the increase in the number of Russian strike formations that Russia has concentrated on the border with Ukraine.
The parliamentarian stressed the OSCE SMM's record of ceasefire violations, lack of progress in the Minsk talks and Russia's lack of willingness to dialogue, stressing the importance of continuing and strengthening sanctions against the aggressor state until the liberation of Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories.