11 November 2015, 12:30
The sanctions of the European Union against the Russian Federation and every possible pressure on that country must be prolonged to make it finally fulfill the Minsk agreements.
Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Groysman said this at the meeting with President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ilkka Kanerva on Wednesday.
"We are concerned over the fact that Russia does not want to implement its obligations in full," said Groysman adding that Russia was ignoring the implementation of own obligations in the frames of the Minsk process.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada pointed to the aggressive politics of the Russian Federation, which, in his words escalated the situation both in Europe and all over the world. According to Groysman, the annexation of Crimea and the aggression in the east of Ukraine are two elements of the manifestation of Russia's major goal "to expand its power." Therefore, he noted that the future of the whole continent depended on the unity of Ukraine and the European countries and accurate response to the challenges generated by Russia.
In turn, Ilkka Kanerva called it "obvious" that Russia "was trying to deploy its empire-style politics," "to return the status of a super power," and "does not understand the language the European Union is speaking." "One of the major Russia's tasks is to create obstacles on Ukraine's way to introduction of European values and further cooperation with the European Union," Kanerva said. He also pointed out the importance of unity inside the EU during the period the sanctions are introduced against the Russian Federation.
Mr. Kanerva called the implementation of the Minsk agreements "a crucial issue" for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada thanked the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President for "constant attention to Ukraine, principled and objective position" and called the role of this powerful organization in the process of settlement of the situation in Donbas "extremely constructive."