The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses a strong protest in connection with the visit of a delegation of the Pan-African Parliament consisting of representatives of Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, South Sudan, the Comoros Islands, Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti, Eswatini, Zambia, Somalia and Mozambique to the territory of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.
By taking part in the Russian propaganda campaign, the African parliamentarians showed gross disrespect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and disregarded the fundamental principles of international law. The statements made by them during this visit about opposing colonialism, made on Ukrainian land illegally seized by Russia in the course of the neo-colonial war of aggression against Ukraine, are completely absurd.
The visit of the African delegation contradicts the spirit of friendship and mutual respect that characterize Ukraine's relations with the states of the African continent and causes serious damage to the reputation of the Pan-African Parliament, which was established in 2004 as one of the organs of the African Union, in particular with the aim of promoting peace, security and stability.
It also contradicts the Joint Statement of the Chairperson of the African Union, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission dated 24 February 2022, which calls on Russia and other regional and any other regional or international actor to "imperatively respect international law, the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Ukraine."
We would like to hope that this visit and the statements made during it do not reflect the official position of the African Union and the Pan-African Parliament.
In this regard, we demand from the leadership of the African Union and the Pan-African Parliament to strongly condemn the visit of its representatives to the territory of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, and to avoid any contact with representatives of the Russian occupation administration in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.