Виголошена Постійним представником України при міжнародних організаціях у Відні І.Прокопчуком на засіданні Постійної ради ОБСЄ 27 жовтня 2016 року. 

Statement in Response to the Address by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Ms. Christine Muttonen

As delivered by the Delegation of Ukraine

to the 1116th meeting of the Permanent Council,

27 October 2016

 

Mr. Chairman,

We join previous speakers in warmly welcoming President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly H.E. Ms. Christine Muttonen to the Permanent Council and thank her for comprehensive presentation and expressing views of possible cooperation in addressing the current challenges in the OSCE region.

At the outset, let me congratulate you, Ms.Muttonen, in connection with your election as President of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and wish every success in your future activities.

Ukraine maintains productive relationships with the OSCE PA. The members of the parliamentary delegation of Ukraine actively participate in the Assembly’s meetings and put forward pertinent proposals on draft Resolutions. We are pleased to note that the Head of the Ukrainian delegation Mr.Artur Gerasymov was elected this year as the Vice-Chair of the OSCE PA General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment.

Mr.Chairman,

Since the beginning of the Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the debates at the OSCE PA meetings convincingly showed the centrality of such issues as fundamental OSCE principles and commitments on which this Organization is based, and firm condemnation of their flagrant violation.

We view it as very important that the OSCE PA continues to be a platform, geared up to promotion and defense of the fundamental OSCE principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act. The OSCE PA, in its Declarations and Resolutions regarding the violations of the Helsinki Principles by the Russian Federation, the abducted and illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in the Russian Federation, the violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, adopted in 2014, 2015 and 2016, repeatedly condemned these violations and called upon the Russian Federation to stop aggression against Ukraine, to reverse the attempted annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, to halt its destabilization campaign in Ukraine, in particular fueling the conflict in Donbas, to fully withdraw from Ukraine and to fully comply with its obligations under the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and other norms and principles of international law, including the OSCE principles and commitments.

We regret that the Russian Federation has not yet demonstrated its willingness to follow these calls of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and to return to the tenets of international law. We therefore would encourage the OSCE PA and its respective General Committees to put high on the agenda the issue of prompt and full implementation of the adopted OSCE PA Resolutions to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in peaceful manner with full respect to norms of international law.

During the meeting between the Ukrainian and the Russian parliamentary delegations to the OSCE PA, facilitated by the leadership of the OSCE PA (February 2015, Vienna) the Ukrainian delegation transmitted to the Russian delegation the materials containing evidences of the Russian military presence in Donbas.

We note with deep regret that the Russian parliamentary delegation has ignored the presented evidences.

The absence of any meaningful reaction from the Russian parliamentary delegation to these facts does not facilitate resolving the crisis and does not demonstrate that Russia is genuinely interested in engaging in dialogue on the platform of the OSCE PA, facilitating de-escalation and peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine. It indicates instead the lack of intention to take effective measures to stop actions that fuel the conflict in Ukraine’s east, including the supply of heavy weapons, military equipment, regular troops and mercenaries. 

Mr.Chairperson,

Despite the calls of the Parliamentary Assembly and the participating States, Russia went further in violating international law and the Helsinki principles by the conduct of elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on 18 September 2016 on the territory of the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Ukraine strongly condemns the conduct of these elections on the territory of the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which constitute an integral part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. The conduct of these elections de-legitimized Russia's parliament. 

In this regard we wish to recall the Resolution adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 20 September 2016, whereby it was decided not to recognize as legitimate these parliamentary elections in Russia, their results and legal implications, and, respectively, the composition, powers, acts and decisions of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the seventh convocation.

Bearing in mind that the OSCE PA, in its 2016 Tbilisi Declaration, reaffirmed its strong support for the sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders as confirmed by the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 of 27 March 2014 “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine” and guided by its provisions, we deem it important to maintain a firm position on non-recognition of the results of elections to the Russia’s State Duma in the part of voting in the illegally occupied Crimean peninsula.

We expect that the OSCE PA will continue to ensure that the norms of international law, the fundamental OSCE principles and commitments are strictly observed and therefore any attempts of inclusion of MPs whose mandate has been illegitimised by the elections in the temporarily occupied Crimea to the Russian parliamentary delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are firmly rejected.

We believe that the parliamentary diplomacy could make its valuable contribution to the efforts aimed at halting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, facilitating peaceful resolution and restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

In conclusion, I wish to thank you once again for addressing the Permanent Council and express full support for the activities of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and its further efforts of defending the Helsinki principles. We remain confident that jointly we must not allow these principles be compromised.

Thank you, Mr.Chairman.