Confirming Ukraine’s adherence to the ideals and principles which are a common gain of the European peoples, considering that Ukraine has joined the Charter of the Council of Europe in the interests of preserving and further realization of these values and principles as well as promoting economic and social progress through a closer union between all the European states,

Confirming the consistent policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine towards fulfilling Ukraine’s obligations arising from its membership in the Council of Europe and fixed in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Ukraine Opinion 190 (1995), and readiness to further cooperate in this regard with the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee),

Recalling the ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine which started on February 20, 2014 and resulted into illegal occupation of a part of the territory of Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Ukraine, city of Sevastopol and certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,

Underscoring gross violation of the Russian Federation of basic principles and generally accepted norms of the international law, its obligations as an occupying state as well as international obligations to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine fixed in the European Social Charter, the Charter of the United Nations, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (Helsinki Final Act), Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (the Budapest Memorandum) as well as in a number of other bilateral and multilateral international treaties in which Ukraine and the Russian Federation are parties and participants,

Considering demands to the Russian Federation fixed in the Resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as a response to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine to be adequate and substantiated,

Noting the importance of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1990 (2014) “Reconsideration on substantive grounds of the previously ratified credentials of the Russian delegation”, Resolution 2034 (2015) “Challenge, on substantive grounds, of the still unratified credentials of the delegation of the Russian Federation”, Resolution 2063 (2015) “Consideration of the annulment of the previously ratified credentials of the delegation of the Russian Federation (follow-up to paragraph 16 of Resolution 2034 (2015))”,

Acknowledging with regret that the Russian Federation hasn’t demonstrated any progress with regard to fulfilling the mentioned above resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has decided to unilaterally boycott the activity of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and hasn’t submitted credentials of the national delegation for the ratification of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe during 2016-2018, thus refusing from the democratic dialogue and resorting to political and financial blackmail of the Council of Europe,

Recalling the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 2132 (2016) “Political consequences of the Russian aggression in Ukraine” in which the Assembly calls on the Russian authorities to fulfill its demands under Resolutions 1990 (2014), 2034 (2015) and 2063 (2015), and stresses that only considerable progress of the fulfilment of the Assembly’s demands may serve as basis for the restoration of a genuine dialogue with the Assembly,

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine states as follows:

1. The matters of powers of the national delegations within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and of the rights given to the delegations vested with powers are of crucial importance for the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as they represent practical mechanisms for implementation of policy of the Council of Europe, control of compliance with the Statute of the Council of Europe and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as with a broad range of duties and responsibilities of the Council of Europe member states.

2. The existing system of rules of procedure, which envisages that national delegations’ powers are subject to appeal essentially and on technicalities, is an effective mechanism ensuring control by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of member states’ compliance with the principles and values of the Council of Europe.

3. As the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly are going through one of the most complicated crises in their history, which stems from violation by a member state of the aim and principles of the Council of Europe and its departure from voluntarily assumed duties and responsibilities, withdrawal from the mechanisms of political influence upon member states or significant complication of their application procedure will cause an irreparable harm to the Assembly, its monitoring procedure, and to the Council of Europe as a whole.

4. Preparation of a decision to change the Assembly rules of procedure with regard to abolition of provisions for appealing the national delegations’ powers essentially, or complicate significantly the procedure for such appeals, is politically motivated and aims at providing for unobstructed and unconditional return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of the delegation of the Russian Federation while this country categorically refuses to fulfil legitimate demands by the Assembly connected with Russia’s violation of the Statute of the Council of Europe and of its voluntarily assumed duties and obligations as part of its membership in the Council of Europe, and Russian parliamentarians continue to support the aggressive policies of Russian leadership.

5. The credibility and political capability of the Parliamentary Assembly in the context of the current challenges in Europe can be preserved only on the condition that the existing institutional capability of the Assembly and the mechanisms of application of its own policies are ensured. Understanding that the destruction of institutional foundations will mean the recognition by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of its political inability to uphold its own decisions and publicly demonstrate departure from the values and principles of the Council of Europe – the rule of law, democracy and human rights – will force the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine and its Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to carry out a full review of the foundations upon which the cooperation with the Assembly and the mechanisms of such cooperation are based.

2 October 2018