First of all, Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed that this visit is a manifestation of strong solidarity with Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. He expressed gratitude for the cooperation demonstrated by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in recent years.
At the same time, he stressed that the decision to hold a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee “Parliamentary Support Group for Ukraine” in the Ukrainian Parliament today is an important signal of support for Ukraine.
During the meeting, Ruslan Stefanchuk focused on Ukraine’s priority issues, including consolidating military, political and economic support for Ukraine in the face of russian aggression, as well as promoting the implementation of the goals of the Ukrainian Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
In addition, he stressed the importance of holding russia accountable under international law and supporting the de-occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and other temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, returning illegally deported Ukrainian children home, and increasing sanctions pressure on russia and further consolidating russia’s international isolation: “russia must be held accountable for what it has done in Ukraine”. “A country that so brazenly destroys the system of international law should receive a tough response from the system of international law – this is only fair,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The parties also discussed the so-called “elections” in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine: “I am counting on the official reaction of the OSCE PA with a strong condemnation of the attempts of the russian federation to hold these “elections”.
In conclusion, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine called on the OSCE PA President and the Assembly she chairs to be resolute and consistent in forcing russia to stop its aggression by completely blocking its presence and activities in international organisations: “Appropriate amendments to the OSCE PA Rules of Procedure should be adopted”.