15:03 05.08.2019

Ukraine's interests in PACE without focusing on Russia's presence should be advanced – Servant of the People

2 min read
Ukraine's interests in PACE without focusing on Russia's presence should be advanced – Servant of the People

The task of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is to advance the interests of Ukraine, and the country should not focus on the fact whether the Russian delegation participates in the work of this organization, future MP from the Servant of the People Party, diplomat Bohdan Yaremenko, has said.

"Our task is not to exclude Russia, but to propose our positions, promote those resolutions that meet the interests of Ukraine. We will focus on this – this can be done with Russia [the Russian delegation to PACE], and without Russia," Yaremenko told Interfax-Ukraine, asked how appropriate it is to suspend the work of the Ukrainian delegation in PACE in response to the decision to return the Russian delegation to PACE, as some Ukrainian parliamentarians stated.

He said that the Council of Europe "questioned allegiance to principles," and expressed regret that a small number of states support the Ukrainian position. "So, we must adapt to the situation and look for a way to advance our interests. Our interest is not in excluding Russia, but in consolidating support around our views. This is what we are doing," Yaremenko said.

According to him, "one can always shoot himself in the leg," but this is counterproductive.

The future MP said that the Ukrainian delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of the eighth convocation in PACE "at times incorrectly emphasized its important positive work, somewhat shifted its emphasis for political purposes."

Yaremenko said that PACE is that platform where it is possible and necessary to make arrangements.

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