Petro Poroshenko meeting with Ilkka Kanerva, Kyiv, 16 June 2016 (Photo courtesy of the Office of the President of Ukraine.)KYIV, 16 June 2016 – Expressing solidarity with Ukraine in meetings today with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) urged the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements to end the conflict in the Donbas region and reiterated the Parliamentary Assembly’s readiness to do its part to de-escalate and resolve the crisis.

Meeting with Poroshenko, Kanerva noted his concern that six months after the deadlines for the Minsk II agreement had passed, the international community is still calling for a real ceasefire and the withdrawal of foreign fighters and weapons. Other unfulfilled goals, Kanerva recalled, include legitimate local elections in the east of Ukraine and the restoration of Ukrainian control over its eastern border.

“The Minsk Agreements remain the best path forward for Ukraine and the region, and despite setbacks, the goals set forth in these agreements are still achievable. In the PA, we have consistently condemned Russia’s illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea, in violation of the Helsinki Final Act, and have spoken out on serious humanitarian issues resulting from the crisis, including the detention of Ukrainian citizens,” Kanerva said.

In the meeting, Poroshenko welcomed the Parliamentary Assembly’s support and assured Kanerva that his government is moving forward with systemic and full-fledged reforms on both administrative and political fields. In particular, Kanerva called on Kyiv to continue implementing wide-ranging efforts to tackle corruption, putting aside political loyalties and infighting.

In a meeting with Foreign Minister Klimkin, the interlocutors concentrated on discussing OSCE efforts in Ukraine and the wider region. “We have seen threats and attacks against and now even an abduction of SMM staff,” Kanerva said, referring to the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. “This is absolutely unacceptable and needs to stop. Whoever tries to blindfold the mission admits that one has something to hide.”

Kanerva has been in Kyiv this week attending the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s 92nd Rose-Roth Seminar, and has held a series of high-level meetings including with Andriy Parubiy, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv, and the Ukrainian OSCE PA Delegation led by Artur Gerasymov.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and recipient of the country’s highest Hero of Ukraine order, met with President Kanerva and offered gratitude for the OSCE PA’s support during her nearly two years in a Russian prison.

Discussions on the crisis in and around Ukraine are expected to feature prominently at the OSCE PA’s 25th Annual Session, taking place 1-5 July in Tbilisi, Georgia.