Joint statement on sham referendums organised by the Russian Federation
in the occupied territories of Ukraine
As Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees of our respective Parliaments, in response to
the Russian regime imposing sham referendums in four temporarily occupied regions
of Ukraine and to the continued — unprovoked and unjust — war of aggression waged
against Ukraine by Russia, we:
reiterate
that the unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a gross violation of Ukraine’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is in clear violation of Russia’s obligations
arising from Article 2 of the UN Charter and international law, as well as the
obligations Russia undertook by signing the Budapest Memorandum and committing
to guarantee the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine;
emphasise
that the sham referendums organised and imposed by the Russian
occupation regime in four regions of Ukraine are a clear violation of international law,
including the UN charter, and can only be considered as a false pretext to attempt to
annex parts of Ukraine and justify their illegal war – a process reflecting Russia’s
approach in Crimea in 2014, combining military presence, violence, forced
deportations, disinformation, intimidation, distribution of Russian passports to
Ukrainian citizens and fake and illegitimate results;
underline
that these referendums and whatever fabricated outcomes Russia will
announce do not represent the demonstrated will of the Ukrainian people and are a
severe violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence, and the
annexation of Ukrainian territory cannot be recognised by any country;
reiterate
our strongest condemnation of the ongoing war of aggression of Russia
against Ukraine, Russia’s sham referendums and all officials and collaborators
involved in the organisation of these referendums in the temporarily occupied
territories of Ukraine, and demand that Russia immediately withdraw its forces from
within Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders and respect Ukraine’s territory and
sovereignty;
call on
our partners and allies across the world and on all nations that respect the
fundamental principles and core tenets of the UN charter – to reject and condemn the
referendums organised in temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine and not to
recognise any results that Russia might announce as well as the passports of the
Russian Federation issued in the occupied regions of Ukraine;
call on
the international community to seek accountability for those who have been
actively involved in the organisation and holding of illegal referendums or engaged in
other related activities;
invite
the Euro-Atlantic community and its partners to urgently strengthen sanctions
against Russia to weaken the ability of the Russian armed forces to wage war;
increase military, financial, humanitarian and diplomatic support to Ukraine;
unanimously support initiatives that condemn Russia's military actions in Ukraine and
call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice; continue to isolate Russia from