23 December 2013
MEDIA RELEASE
Ukrainian World Congress calls upon Ukraine’s Parliament to effectively repudiate the agreements of the sixth meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission
The Ukrainian World Congress denounces the non-transparent negotiations and agreements made during the sixth meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission held on 17 December 2013 in Moscow, which jeopardize Ukraine’s independence and contradict the aspirations of the Ukrainian people for Euro‑integration.
The minutes of the sixth meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission co-chaired by President Viktor Yanukovych and President Vladimir Putin indicate that documents reflecting agreements were signed regarding the joint celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, bilateral trade, aircraft production, the supply of goods through industrial cooperation, shipbuilding, the construction of transport crossing through the Kerch Strait, the exchange of information in the field of nuclear and radiation safety, the designation of a checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Russian border, cooperation on controlling the Ukrainian-Russian border, drug control, cooperation on the prevention of industrial accidents, natural disasters and the elimination of their consequences, cooperation in the aerospace industry and the 2009-2019 purchase and sale of natural gas.
Agreements were also reached concerning the joint implementation of infrastructure and industrial projects, the convergence of technical regulations in Ukraine and the Customs Union, cooperation with the Eurasian Development Bank, the anti-crisis fund of the Eurasian Economic Community and the CIS Interstate Bank, cooperation in the gas industry, the production of nuclear fuel, the building of reactors for the Khmelnytskyi NPP, cooperation in mechanical engineering, the chemical industry and mining-metallurgical complexes, the implementation of investment, financial and sectoral cooperation, military-technical cooperation, increasing the participation of the Russian Federation in the development of the socio-economic sphere of Sevastopol, the repair of buildings and facilities of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet on the territory of Ukraine, a series of draft agreements on the functioning of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and its stay on the territory of Ukraine, migration policy and cooperation of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Each of the governing authorities of Ukraine and Russia also agreed to refrain from unilateral actions related to the implementation of import substitution policies, which can cause damage to the other party.
Almost a year ago, on 17 January 2013, in a letter to high-ranking European officials, Ukrainian World Congress President Eugene Czolij wrote:
On 25 April 2005, in a report by BBC News, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the collapse of the Soviet Union, in his annual state of the nation address, as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century.
Today, President Putin is aggressively promoting his new world vision to establish a Eurasian Economic Union of former Soviet republics, including Ukraine, with a common political, military, customs, humanitarian and cultural space, by the year 2015. A crucial step to achieving this would be the integration of Ukraine as a member of the Russia-dominated Customs Union. […]
In summation, the Ukrainian World Congress urges the EU to expedite Ukraine’s Euro‑integration. By signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the EU would be taking an important step in that direction and to furthering the modernization and Europeanization of Ukraine, the sixth most populous country, and the largest by area, in Europe. It would be a very positive decision with tremendous future benefits for the EU and Ukraine.
The alternative is for Ukraine to continue drifting between the poles of Europe and Russia, maintaining the current instability in the region with all of the attendant negative consequences. Or even worse, Ukraine could become a member of the Russia-dominated Customs Union. This would inevitably harm the geopolitical balance in Europe, significantly undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, cause further deterioration of its human rights record, and embolden Russia’s expansionary ambitions.
The minutes of the sixth meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission demonstrate the blatant efforts to draw Ukraine into the Eurasian Union, which would lead to the reconstruction of the Soviet Union dominated by Russia.
This dramatic change in the foreign policy of President Viktor Yanukovych and the Government of Ukraine contravene’s the law of Ukraine “On the principles of foreign and domestic policies” and the will of the Ukrainian people on the Euromaidans throughout Ukraine.
The Ukrainian World Congress calls on President Viktor Yanukovych to fully disclose all of the agreements that were reached between him and Russia’s President at the time of the sixth meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission.
Moreover, the Ukrainian World Congress urges Ukraine’s Parliament to effectively repudiate the agreements of the sixth meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission, which jeopardize Ukraine’s independence.
