03 October 2022, 16:03
Joint statement of the COSAC delegation on support of Ukraine
The delegation of the Conference of Chairpersons of Parliamentary
Committees on European Affairs of the Member States of the European Union,
which visited Ukraine at the invitation of Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze,
published a joint statement in support of Ukraine.
In it, the Chairpersons of the Committees on European Affairs of EU
national Parliaments and the First Vice-President of the European
Parliament once again expressed their strong support for the sovereignty,
independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its
internationally recognized borders: ‘We condemn in the strongest possible
terms the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified war against
Ukraine and demand Russia to immediately terminate all military activities
in Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment
from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine. We
underline that the military aggression and invasion constitute a serious
violation of international law, in particular the Geneva Convention, its
additional Protocols and the UN Charter’.
The members of the delegation reiterated their support for all defensive
assistance provided to the Ukrainian armed forces, including offered
individually by the EU member states, collectively through the European
Peace Facility (EPF), by other international partners, and called for a
further increase in concrete contributions to urgently strengthen
Ukraine’s defence capabilities.
They severely condemned the sham referenda organised by Russia in four
Ukrainian regions and any announcements for annexation. They pointed out
that results are null and void: ‘International community will not
recognize these staged shows aimed at legitimizing Russia’s territorial
games as part of its war of aggression against Ukraine. This performance
had nothing to do with expression of will and must not have any
implications for Ukraine’s administrative-territorial system and
internationally recognized borders. We emphasize that the Luhansk,
Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, like the Ukrainian Crimea,
remain the sovereign territories of Ukraine’.
The statement called for drawing conclusions regarding Russia's true
intentions, increase the support for Ukraine in countering Russian
aggression instead of playing a role of peacekeepers that Russia doesn’t
need.
The Chairpersons of the Committees on European Affairs of EU national
Parliaments and the First Vice-President of the European Parliament called
on all states and international organizations to immediately condemn the
illegal actions of the Kremlin in the temporarily occupied territories of
Ukraine and to increase the isolation of Russia: ‘We call on partners to
make it clear to Russia that the only response to its attempts of
annexation, blackmail and ultimatums will be the increase of support for
Ukraine so that it prevails over the aggressor’.
Referring to the historic decision of the European Council of 23 June 2022
to grant Ukraine the European perspective and the EU candidate status, the
COSAC delegation expressed all the necessary support for Ukraine in the
areas identified by the European Commission, that would allow the start of
the accession negotiations with Ukraine as soon as possible: ‘Underline
our willingness to actively support the accession process. This explicitly
also applies to the measures preceding the start of accession
negotiations’. They also pledged to support enhanced interparliamentary
cooperation between their parliaments and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.