OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden) spoke today at the Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform in Zagreb, reiterating the international community’s “full, united solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”
The summit, which brought together Croatian government officials, media representatives, and parliamentarians of many countries for the purpose of increasing international pressure to promote the de-occupation of Crimea and its peaceful return to Ukraine, was an initiative of the Ukrainian government with the support of several international organizations.
On the margins of the summit, President Cederfelt held consultations with colleagues, discussing the best way forward to support Ukraine. Discussions were held with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chair of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; and with Othmar Karas, Vice-President of the European Parliament. In talks, Stefanchuk welcomed the OSCE PA’s Birmingham Declaration on continued support for Ukraine. Cederfelt and Karas discussed the importance of reinforcing complementarity between the European Parliament and the OSCE PA to ensure greater impact and avoid duplication of efforts.
In her remarks, Cederfelt stressed that every day, OSCE parliamentarians share the suffering of millions of Ukrainians targeted by Russian aggression, and remain steadfast in their support for Ukraine and its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. “Since 2014, we have denounced Russia’s annexation of Crimea as a clear, gross, and uncorrected violation of the Helsinki Final Act,” Cederfelt said. “Our latest Declaration, adopted in July, the Birmingham Declaration, condemns in the strongest terms the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.”
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She emphasized that we must not only continue to call for Russia’s unconditional withdrawal from Ukraine, but also to recall that full respect for international law and compliance with international commitments are the only way to build long-lasting peace in Europe. “Regardless of party politics, our members from all across the OSCE region will continue to defend our shared values in your parliaments and with your governments,” Cederfelt said.
The one-day summit in Zagreb has included the participation of dozens of speakers and deputy speakers of parliaments, as well as heads of inter-parliamentary assemblies, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and NATO PA. Other OSCE PA Members in attendance include Ukrainian parliamentarian Yevheniia Kravchuk; Nikoloz Samkharadze, Head of the Georgian Delegation and Chair of the OSCE PA’s human rights committee; and Wolfgang Sobotka, Head of the Austrian Delegation and President of the National Council of Austria.
The summit concluded with the adoption of a joint declaration, which calls, inter alia, to “continue political, diplomatic, financial, humanitarian and other support for Ukraine, in line with the respective procedures and legislation of each Participant, to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”
Video of the summit is available here.
