“It is only through our concerted efforts that we shall be able to keep up the principles of the Council of Europe,” – Dmytro Razumkov
The speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov opened a joint meeting of parliamentary delegations of the Baltic Plus Group (BPG) countries at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, France.
"Our parliament has always been open and fully committed to cooperation with countries that seek peace, development and concord," Dmytro Razumkov emphasized.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada observed that the Strasbourg meeting with parliament heads of the BPG states was rather fruitful, and thanked for their steadfast position upon supporting Ukraine in maintaining its territorial integrity and protecting its borders.
"We do understand that the challenges facing our states are common," he stated.
According to Dmytro Razumkov, there are very dangerous trends in the PACE at the moment. “The return of the Russian delegation without implementing any of the resolutions that the PACE has insisted upon is actually an opportunity to jeopardize the basic principles of the organization. Unfortunately, there were states to have lacked consistency in their positions on the issue,” the politician elucidated.
Addressing the delegates, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada emphasized it’s only by pooling our common efforts that we could achieve the goals and preserve the principles declared by the Council of Europe.
Later on, Dmytro Razumkov reminded that the Baltic Plus Group membership might be expanded through joining in by some Nordic countries.
The Chairman of the Ukrainian parliament also highlighted that in protecting Ukraine’s and its partners’ interests, all the political forces of the country are acting in unison, speaking with a single voice and working for common goals.