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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.