CoE not considering sanctions against Ukraine, says Ambassador Tochytsky
The Council of Europe has not considered the possibility of applying sanctions against Ukraine, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to this organization Mykola Tochytsky has said.
"As regards possible sanctions by the Council of Europe on Ukraine, from the legal and formal point of view this is a complex multi-level procedure. They can be applied to any member of the Council of Europe in the case of improper implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the commitments undertaken during the accession to the organization," the diplomat said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine in Strasbourg.
He said Ukraine was currently trying to meet its obligations to comply with all rulings of the ECHR.
"As far as I know, the Council of Europe has never considered and is not considering any drastic measures to make our country fulfill the European Court's rulings through the application of sanctions," the diplomat said.
He also said that Ukraine still had to meet a single formal commitment to the Council of Europe – to change the role and functions of the institution of the prosecution in Ukraine.
"As far as I know, a relevant working group established by the president of Ukraine is working on this. I think that this group will present a relevant bill on this issue soon," Tochytsky said.
Thus, according to the ambassador, of almost 20 commitments that Ukraine undertook at the time of accession to the Council of Europe, only one is left to fulfill.
