On July 28 the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and Mission of Ukraine to the EU organized an online panel discussion: ”Minsk process: gradual success or political deadlock”. The discussion was moderated by Roman Waschuk, Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine (2014-2019).
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov spoke about the principle of ‘security first’ that must be implemented prior to any further political or legal steps towards peace and secure reintegration. He emphasized that none of the proposed processes and measures can threaten Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Deputy Prime Minister also highlighted the impact of the global Ukrainian organized diaspora united by the Ukrainian World Congress in the advocacy for further support to Ukraine.
UWC President Paul Grod spoke about the role of civil society in building a roadmap to peace, supporting advocacy and worldwide information campaigns. UWC President reminded about the red lines previously outlined by UWC (link). He insisted on the importance of a clear and unequivocal position that this is Russia’s war against Ukraine, not a civil conflict in Ukraine. He emphasized the significance of the people to people engagement in countering Russia’s information warfare. Paul Grod also underlined that Ukraine’s economic success is critical to its sovereignty. UWC President highlighted that such success is predicated upon the rule of law and continued development of democratic institutions.
Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Political Director, EEAS Enrique Mora Benavente, confirmed the EU full support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity, as well as for full implementation of the Minsk agreements.”For the EU, the role of RF is very clear: it is not a mediator, it is part of the conflict and has to be part of the solution if it wants the EU to stop the sanctions for the illegal and unilateral annexation of Crimea and its actions in the Donbas”, – stated Enrique Mora Benavente.
James Sherr, Senior Fellow of the International Centre for Defence and Security, Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, Associate Fellow of the Russia & Eurasia Programme of Chatham House and Hanna Hopko, former Head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (2014-2019) also took part in this important discussion.
