"It is fundamentally important that the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the occupied territories of Ukraine are not be recognized by the international community and the PACE," Olena Kondratiuk

Information Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat
06 July 2021, 10:31


Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratyuk held a working meeting with co-rapporteurs of the PACE Monitoring Committee Alfred Heer and Birgir Thorarinsson.
On behalf of the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk thanked the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the consistent support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country within internationally recognized borders.
"Ukraine, for its part, is making efforts to strengthen the Council of Europe both in terms of supporting the authority of this institution and maintaining its financial capacity," she said. At the same time, Olena Kondratiuk reminded our European colleagues that the PACE decision to restore the rights of the Russian parliamentary delegation to the Assembly is unacceptable for Ukraine. "For us, it was a blow to the heart and also a sign of the leveling of international law," she said.
Olena Kondratiuk expressed hope that the PACE monitoring mission would pay special attention and reflect in its report gross violations of human rights by the Russian occupation administration on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine - in Crimea and in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
She stressed that it is fundamentally important for Ukraine that the September elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the occupied territories are not recognized by the international community, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
"Ukraine hopes to maintain a tough sanctions regime against Russia. Today, it is the most effective means of deterring Russian aggression against Ukraine. And we also count on further support of the PACE in defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Olena Kondratiuk stressed.
According to her, Russia understands only the language of force and sanctions, and without an end to Russian aggression and deoccupation of Ukraine, it is impossible to restore security and respect for the rule of law in Europe.
The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada also stressed that despite the various political forces represented in the legislature, the issue of restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity and continuing sanctions against the aggressor country is an unshakable position of the Parliament and the Ukrainian delegation to the PACE headed by MP Maria Mezentseva.