Ukrainian PACE delegate condemns visit of French MPs to Crimea
The Ukrainian delegation to PACE spoke about the illegality of the visit of French deputies to Crimea.
According to MP Volodymyr Ariev, the chairman of Ukraine’s permanent delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Ukrainian PACE delegation was disappointed to receive news about another visit of a group of French deputies headed by PACE delegate Thierry Mariani to Crimea.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian delegation, I declare that we are outraged by the defiant disregard for the Ukrainian and international legislation, in which Mariani distinguished himself as a recidivist. We are not going to respect and tolerate the right of politicians to a demonstrative disregard for the law and disrespect of the Member States of the Council of Europe,” the Ukrainian delegation statement, addressed to President of PACE Pedro Agramunt, says. Ariev published the statement on his Facebook page.
“The published photo [that shows] a monument to the so-called ‘green men’ only proves the conscious decision of the French politicians to disrespect the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the statement says.
The Ukrainian delegation also regrets the fact that the Assembly has not been able to establish rules that would regulate the Assembly delegates’ respect for international and national law, after a similar visit to Crimea by three French PACE representatives a year ago.
“Together with the statement made by some delegates of PACE, regarding the readiness to receive a delegation from the Russian Federation without permission from the PACE rules, and restrictions on Russian non-compliance with the Council of Europe standards, this all collectively undermines the credibility of the Assembly as a body, which is the guardian of democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” the statement says.
Ariev also called on Agramunt to inform the PACE Bureau about this statement.
Eleven French parliamentarians, headed by Deputy of the National Assembly Mariani, arrived in Crimea on July 29.