Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said in his speech at the 128th meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) that the CoE, if it wants to come through difficult times, should be "equal" to Ukrainian political prisoners who are held by Russia, but are not succumbing to its pressure.

"Klimkin, a little sensationally for the diplomatic community, said today that if the Council of Europe wants to come through difficult times, it should be equal to Sentsov, Balukh, Abdullayev and other political prisoners who do not surrender under the pressure of Russia and find the strength to withstand evil to protect justice," Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Dmytro Kuleba wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.

According to the text of the minister's statement at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Klimkin quoted a Ukrainian film director: "I, Oleh Sentsov, a citizen of Ukraine illegally sentenced by a Russian court and staying in a penal colony in Labytnangi, declared an indefinite hunger strike on May 14, 2018. The only condition for its termination is the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners on the territory of the Russian Federation."

Earlier it was reported that Klimkin would pay a visit to Denmark on May 17-18 to participate in the 128th meeting of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers. Kuleba reported that the Ukrainian minister would raise the issue of Ukrainian political prisoners at the meeting.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Klimkin would raise the issue of Russia's continuing aggression against the Ukrainian state and the release of Ukrainian citizens illegally held by Russia.