“Intense defensive and offensive operations continue at the frontline. russian occupants systematically shell peaceful cities and towns of Ukraine and damage port infrastructure,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine stressed, noting that all OSCE resources should be directed to support Ukraine in its victory over russia.
“russia’s position completely contradicts all norms and principles of international law. Therefore, we hope that the entire international community, including international organisations, will do everything necessary to ensure that Ukraine wins this war,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called on Bujar Osmani to use all instruments of influence to consolidate the international community to provide practical support to Ukraine.
“Another important issue is the further isolation of russia within the OSCE,” stressed Ruslan Stefanchuk. He noted that in this regard, it is important to implement the provisions of the July 2022 OSCE PA resolution amending the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, which should allow for the temporary suspension of the powers of a parliamentary delegation of a state that violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another state.
In addition, during the meeting, the parties raised the importance of documenting russian war crimes and genocide crimes in Ukraine by the OSCE and the issue of illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to russia. According to Ruslan Stefanchuk, more than 110,000 war crimes committed by the russian federation have been registered by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. He expressed hope that the OSCE will be more intensively involved in registering these crimes: “The evidence base is important in bringing the russian federation to justice.”
They also discussed inter-parliamentary cooperation and the implementation of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine informed that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine had taken patronage of the fifth point of the Formula, which concerns the implementation of the UN Charter and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine addressed the Parliament of North Macedonia on the recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people, stressing that this year Ukraine commemorates the 90th anniversary of the terrible famine that took place during the stalinist soviet regime.
For his part, the OSCE Chairman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, stressed that all the OSCE autonomous organisations unanimously support Ukraine.
“During our chairmanship, we also insist on russia’s legal responsibility,” said Bujar Osmani, adding that the OSCE has already resorted to the mechanism three times to register everything committed by russia, including the crime of abducting Ukrainian children.
Regarding the implementation of the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the OSCE Chairman expressed his belief that it is possible to build joint work around all the points of the Formula without exception.