The Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association has
the honour to present its report on the Joint Meeting of the Ukraine-NATO
Interparliamentary Council (UNIC), the Sub-Committee on NATO Partnerships
(PCNP) and the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Economic Relations (ESCTER)
meetings which were held in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 7-8, 2015. Canada was
represented by Senator Raynell Andreychuk.
TOPICS
·Update on the Situation in Crimea and Eastern
Ukraine and Implementation of the Minsk 2 Agreement
·NATO's Assistance to Ukraine: Achievements and
Challenges
·Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic Integration, and
Priorities and Achievements of the Annual National Programme
·Priorities and Challenges for the New Rada:
Political, Economic and Defence Reform
·Ukraine’s Economic Situation and Outlook
·EU Relations with Ukraine and the EU-Ukraine
Association Agenda
OVERVIEW
The Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council was
created in 1998 to bring greater transparency to the implementation of the
NATO–Ukraine Charter and to provide a forum for parliamentary involvement in
the growing co-operation between NATO and Ukraine. Since then, however,
the agenda has expanded and the UNIC meeting now provides an opportunity for
Ukrainian parliamentarians and members of parliaments from across the Alliance
to discuss any issue of concern.
Following the meetings, the
UNIC Co-chairs Andriy Parubiy, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, and
Senator Raynell Andreychuk, Canada, released the following statement:
“The NATO Parliamentary Assembly has maintained
a close partnership with the Verkhovna Rada since Ukraine established its
independence, and has long supported Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial
integrity. During the events of Euro-Maidan, the Assembly appealed to
Ukrainian authorities to end the assault on protestors and to embark upon
genuine negotiations with opposition leaders.
The Assembly also firmly condemned Russia’s
illegal annexation of Crimea and its ongoing campaign of aggression in
Eastern Ukraine. In November 2014, the Assembly stated, inter alia, that Russia’s
direct as well as covert involvement, including the deployment of unmarked
uniformed troops in part of Ukraine, is the principal reason for the
prolonged armed conflict and the humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukraine.
To demonstrate its support, the Assembly has
held a succession of high-level meetings in Ukraine, and has repeatedly
called upon the international community to assist Ukraine in dealing with the
many challenges it faces.
This meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Inter‑parliamentary
Council (UNIC), the parliamentary counterpart to the NATO-Ukraine
Commission, has provided another opportunity to underline the Assembly’s
solidarity with Ukraine and its support for Ukraine’s reform process.
The Council, composed of representatives from
each of the Assembly's committees and leading members of the Verkhovna Rada,
is a critical forum for dialogue between the Assembly and Ukrainian
Parliament and for examining the implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Charter and
reviewing all aspects of the NATO-Ukraine relationship.
Following today’s programme of briefings and
discussions, we warmly welcome the changing perception of NATO within
Ukrainian society as well as growing public support for Euro-Atlantic
integration. We are convinced that the Assembly will be ready to assist
Ukraine in deepening its relationship with NATO should its government choose
to follow this course, and we welcome the Assembly’s long-standing and
enduring commitment to NATO’s Open Door policy.
We strongly encourage Ukraine to implement fully
the Annual National Programme of cooperation with NATO, not only as means of
deepening ties with NATO, but also because the programme will bolster
Ukraine’s security and contribute substantially to Ukraine’s progress towards
Euro-Atlantic integration. We also particularly endorse measures
designed to enhance greater understanding among the Ukrainian people of the
role and goals of the Alliance.
We are firmly convinced that the Euro-Atlantic
community should provide substantial assistance to Ukraine to enable it to
implement military, political and economic reforms and thereby respond more
effectively to external aggression. We particularly underscore the need
for the Euro-Atlantic community and Ukraine to reinforce their co-operation
to tackle Moscow’s campaign of propaganda and misinformation, designed to
weaken Ukrainian statehood and to mislead and divide the democratic world.
We also underline the need for diplomatic
efforts to resolve the dispute with Russia, recognizing that these efforts
should not compromise Ukrainian sovereignty nor Ukraine’s inalienable right
to determine its own place in the European order. In this context, we
condemn the recent escalation of violence by the Russia-backed separatists in
the Mari’inka area, which, together with the attack on Debaltseve, represents
the most blatant breach of the Minsk-2 agreement so far. International
sanctions should therefore be maintained, and potentially expanded, until
Russia convincingly demonstrates that it is willing to abide by international
law. This would include Russia’s acknowledgement that both Crimea and
the Eastern regions of Ukraine currently occupied by Russian supported
separatists, are indeed Ukrainian sovereign territory. The discrimination and
persecution of political opponents and representatives of certain ethnic
groups, particularly the Crimean Tatars, in the occupied territories should
cease immediately.
We also urge democratically elected Ukrainian
authorities to establish the highest standards possible in matters of
economic and judicial governance, and, in particular, to tackle resolutely
the problem of corruption.
We accordingly look forward to re-energizing the
work of this Council with the aim of deepening parliamentary collaboration
between NATO countries and Ukraine.”
Respectfully
submitted,
Mrs.
Cheryl Gallant, M.P.
Chair
of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association (NATO PA)