First of all, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine expressed gratitude for the support of Ukraine by the Council of Europe, as well as to Didier Reynders for his personal involvement in the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine.
"The Council of Europe is the first and only international organisation to respond to the full-scale russian invasion in February 2022 by withdrawing the aggressor state from its membership," the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed.
He noted that it is important for Ukraine to keep the issue of countering the aggressor state on the agenda of the Council of Europe, to work on bringing the russian political and military leadership to justice and to actively engage the Council of Europe in international efforts to return illegally abducted and deported Ukrainian children back to Ukraine.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed gratitude for the cooperation that exists between Ukraine and the Council of Europe in the protection of human and civil rights: "Europe has never known such large-scale violations of human and civil rights as those committed by the russian federation in Ukraine."
"Despite the expulsion of the terrorist state from the Council of Europe, the organisation's voice should be heard loudly, condemning every criminal step of the aggressor and every manifestation of russian terror," stressed Ruslan Stefanchuk, adding that the role of the Council of Europe in the joint efforts of the civilised world to put sanctions and diplomatic pressure on russia remains important.
Finally, the parties exchanged views on the present and future of the Council of Europe.