On 5 February 2024, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Iryna Borovets met with the high-level OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) delegation headed by the OSCE PA President Pia Kauma.

Iryna Borovets reaffirmed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in the OSCE and expressed her gratitude to Pia Kauma for the latter’s strong support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in face of ongoing Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side drew the attention of the OSCE PA representatives to the need to further promote the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, to return Ukrainian children and civilian hostages kidnapped or detained by Russia.

In addition, the Deputy Minister expressed hope that the OSCE PA would find opportunities to prevent Russian parliamentarians from participating in the Assembly's activities.

Iryna Borovets emphasized that the newly created OSCE PA Ad hoc Committee “Parliamentary Support Team of Ukraine” should take into account the priority needs of our country in its activities. Deputy Minister expressed hope that the Assembly had enough tools and means in promoting the implementation of the Ukraine’s Peace Formula initiated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly during its 30th Annual Session in Vancouver, Canada, established the Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine to consolidate the OSCE PA's practical and political efforts in support of Ukraine in view of the war of aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and to ensure that Ukraine remains at the forefront of the Assembly. President of the OSCE PA Pia Kauma is the Chair of the Ad hoc Committee, which is also composed of the representatives of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

Pia Kauma assured of Assembly’s consistent support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and its readiness to further promote Ukrainian parliamentary initiatives. According to Pia Kauma, adoption, in recent years, by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly of relevant resolutions in support of Ukraine is a clear demonstration of the consolidated position of Assembly’s parliamentarians in this respect.

Pia Kauma expressed her belief in the effective activities of the OSCE PA Ad-hoc Committee in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the OSCE PA.