COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

STATEMENT

ON THE CURRENT EVENTS IN UKRAINE

22 January 2014VilniusThe Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania,recallingthe Resolution of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania of 14 November 2013on Ukraine’s Commitments and Aspirations towards European Union Integration and theResolution of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania of 3 December 2013 on the PoliticalSituation in Ukraine;taking note ofthe U.S. Senate resolution on Ukraine, adopted on 7 January 2014;taking account ofthe Statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton ondevelopments in the Ukrainian Parliament, issued on 17 January 2014;having regard tothe Council conclusions on Ukraine, adopted at the Foreign AffairsCouncil meeting on 20 January 2014;

is deeply shocked

by the recent events in Ukraine when clashes between the protesters andmilitia officers have left hundreds of people injured, some of them severely injured or dead;

regrets

the lost lives and extends its sincere condolences to the families and relatives ofthe victims;

takes note of

the provocative actions by some of the groups aimed at turning peacefuldemonstrations into riots;

is of the opinion

that the laws passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 16 January2014 do not comply with Ukraine’s international commitments ensuring human rights andfundamental freedoms, inadmissibly restrict freedom of speech and peaceful assembly as well asthe activity of non-governmental organisations and should thus be urgently repealed;

notes

that the Human Rights Directorate and the Venice Commission of the Council ofEurope have already started assessing compliance of the laws with the principles of human rightsand fundamental freedoms, and expects conclusions and opinions on possible further steps to beprovided on 5 February 2014; urges Ukrainian public authorities to cooperate with respectiveinstitutions of the Council of Europe and to take their conclusions and opinions into account;

addresses

Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine urging them to realise theirexclusive political responsibility at this particularly difficult period of time for Ukraine, takeresponsible actions to contain the deepening political crisis in the country and work towards theconsolidation of its civil society;

invites

Ukrainian society, opposition forces and government authorities to seek, by allmeans possible, a peaceful political dialogue and resort to this only method to deal with thepolitical crisis in the country;

urges

the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania to ensure that the caseof Ukraine be constantly on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council until the political crisis issolved and solutions meeting the interests of both sides of the conflict are found;

calls on

the Foreign Affairs Committees of national Parliaments of the EU to put a specialfocus on the assessment of the complicated situation in Ukraine and to promote active actions bytheir governments in response to the events in this strategically important country for the entireEuropean Union;

addresses

the European Parliament, the European Commission and the HighRepresentative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, and asksthem to consider all possible measures by the European Union, including economic sanctions, inresponse to the events in Ukraine and take respective actions aimed at promoting a constructivedialogue between the conflicting sides, ensuring implementation of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms, and meeting the EU integration goals of Ukrainian society;

recalls

the invitation of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, expressed in itsResolution of 3 December 2013, to call for the immediate holding in Vilnius of a session of theAssembly of Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the Sejm and Senate of theRepublic of Poland, and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to discuss the current situation.