Ruslan Stefanchuk: Aggressive countries have no place in civilized international organizations
27 June 2022, 20:29
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine held a working meeting with the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt.
"It is time not just to have a discussion, but to conclude that the aggressor countries, the countries that start the war and commit genocide, have no place in civilized international organizations, in particular, in the OSCE and the OSCE PA," Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed. "Given security as the basis of the OSCE, people who destroy that security cannot take part in it."
The Speaker stressed that Ukraine was looking forward to a powerful final declaration, which could be submitted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in July this year.
"I will not consider the war completely over unless there is a fair verdict for the perpetrator of this act of aggression, and Ukraine does not receive compensation from the aggressor for the damage caused to our state and people," – said the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and thanked Margareta Cederfelt for the appointment of the Special Rapporteur on War Crimes in Ukraine.
In addition, the Speaker of the Parliament said that on April 14 this year, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to all parliaments of the world to recognize the genocide of the Ukrainian people:
"We are grateful to the parliaments of the world who made such decisions in support of Ukraine. And I will ask you personally to use all your authority for other parliaments to make similar decisions because it is very important for us to legally and politically condemn russia for the crimes it has committed."
"I want to renew the invitation of the OSCE PA to join the Crimean platform so that together we can further promote the de-occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol," Ruslan Stefanchuk said during the meeting.
For her part, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt, expressed support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people: "We understand that you are now fighting for the values ??fully shared by the OSCE PA - for peace, independence, and international law."
She also said that the annual session of the OSCE PA would begin soon: "We anticipate that there will be a long debate on the war in Ukraine because this will be the main issue."
For his part, Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed that "we must find some dialogue because unpunished evil returns a hundredfold."
"I know that such a mechanism has been proposed and is being considered by your Standing Committee – it is not about expulsion but about suspending the participation of the delegation in the OSCE PA if the country started an unprovoked war or committed an act of genocide," he said, emphasizing that this may be the first step from which to begin a dialogue.