Riigikogu discussed situation in Ukraine
At the additional sitting on Wednesday, the Riigikogu discussed the situation in Ukraine as a matter of significant national importance. At the beginning of the sitting, the draft of the Statement in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine was submitted. The Statement is planned to be passed at the second additional sitting on Wednesday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet who spoke before the Riigikogu said that the Ukrainian crisis is the biggest crisis of security and trust in Europe after the wars in the Balkans and the conflict in Georgia. “Russia has deployed its troops in Crimea and it is an aggression against Ukraine. It is unacceptable and it has been condemned explicitly. The action of the Russian troops in Crimea is a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Russia’s aggression must stop, and the decision of the Russian parliament which allows the Russian army to be used in Ukraine must be repealed.
In Paet’s words, Russia’s intervention goes against several international agreements – the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the 1997 Russia-Ukraine Military Base Agreement and the Budapest Memorandum. Russia is clearly violating international law and adding more tension to the critical situation in Ukraine.
“The international community has very widely condemned Russia’s aggression in Crimea. Individual states, as well as international organisations such as NATO, the EU as well as the OSCE and the UN, have made strong statements. The North Atlantic Council, the EU’s foreign ministers, the UN Security Council, the OSCE and the Council of Europe have discussed and are discussing the situation and further steps. On Thursday, the heads of states and governments of the EU will consider the further steps by the EU,” Paet said.
Paet noted that Estonia is ready to participate in the OSCE mission to Ukraine which is being prepared. The purpose of this mission is to gather data on the conflict that has developed and to try to prevent it from escalating, intermediating the dialogue between the parties.
Rein Lang, Mailis Reps, Lauri Vahtre, Andres Herkel, Mihhail Stalnuhhin, Sven Mikser, Aivar Riisalu, Juku-Kalle Raid and Tõnis Kõiv took the floor during the debate.
The verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian).
The additional sitting begun at 12:00 and lasted for two and a half hours.