On 24 and 25 November 2014, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij held meetings in Berlin, Germany, with high-ranking German officials concerning the current situation in Ukraine.
During the meetings, the UWC President asserted that the Russian Federation is responsible for an international crisis with Ukraine at its epicenter. He also called upon Germany to:
- effectively defend the long-standing principles of world order, including Ukraine’s right to self‑determination and territorial inviolability;
- distance itself from the dangerous call of Matthias Platzeck, Head of the German-Russian Forum, to recognize the annexation of Crimea as a means to end the conflict in Eastern Ukraine and appease President Vladimir Putin;
- maintain sanctions against the Russian Federation until it complies with its international obligations toward Ukraine;
- increase sectoral sanctions for non-compliance by the Russian Federation with the Minsk agreements; and
- support the strengthening of the OSCE mission to monitor the border of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
The high-ranking German officials assured the UWC President that they are committed to supporting Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.
“In this critical time, I hope that Germany will play a key role in ensuring that the international community offers concrete support for Ukraine,” said UWC President Eugene Czolij.
The UWC President met with the following high-ranking officials:
Barchmann Heinz-Joachim, Member of the Bundestag and Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on the Affairs of the European Union
Beck Marieluise, Member of the Bundestag, Coordinator of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Brok Elmar, Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs
Flügger Michael, Deputy Director General for Foreign, Security and Development Policy at the Federal Chancellery of Germany
Forbrig Joerg, Transatlantic Fellow, Central and Eastern Europe of The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Khymynets Vasyl, Chargé d’Affaires of Ukraine in Germany
Lamers Karl, Member of the Bundestag, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Defence Committee and President of the Atlantic Treaty Association
Lindner Rainer, President of the German-Ukrainian Forum
Meier-Klodt Cord, Ambassador, Special Envoy for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany
Metzler Jan, Member of the Bundestag and Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy
Petry Christian, Member of the Bundestag, Member of the Parliamentary Committee on the Affairs of the European Union and Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee
Schockenhoff Andreas, Member of the Bundestag and Deputy Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union
Spinrath Norbert, Member of the Bundestag, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on the Affairs of the European Union and European Policy Spokesman for the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group
Wadephul Johann, Member of the Bundestag, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for the Scrutiny of Elections, Immunity and the Rules of Procedure and Chair of the Parliamentary Elections Committee
Wellmann Karl-Georg, Member of the Bundestag, Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
