"Ukraine needs our support and not just words - it needs right now the vital munitions which will allow it to continue to defend itself, to defend us all and to defend the most fundamental right of all laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights - the right of people to life," PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos said at the opening of the Assembly's spring session.
"We must not hesitate, at this critical moment, to support Ukraine. I call on all European countries to double and triple their efforts to allow Ukraine to repel the invader, regain control over its illegally occupied territories and to restore peace based on justice throughout its land," he added. On Tuesday the Assembly will discuss support for the reconstruction of Ukraine, including a proposal to use frozen Russian state assets for this purpose, with the participation of the Chairman of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.
Ahead of the joint debate scheduled on Wednesday on Alexei Navalny's death and on the arbitrary detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza, the PACE President paid tribute "to other political opposition leaders and prisoners, and to all the ordinary Russian citizens who have the courage to defy the repressive regime of Vladimir Putin". They might be "not as numerous as we would wish, and they may sometimes feel powerless and without the strength to continue, but I want them to know that we have not forgotten them. We will support them and their struggle for a free and peaceful Russia, respectful of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and which poses no threat to its neighbours and to its own people," he underlined.
Referring to the situation in the Middle East and the "terrible human tragedy which is unfolding before our eyes in our neighbourhood", as well as the Assembly's current affairs debate on the subject to take place on Thursday, the President remembered "the tragedy of lost innocent civilian lives and futures, the women and children who are caught in the crossfire, and the families who have been torn apart". Such human suffering on both sides, he said, "must not continue. Our Assembly welcomes both the Israeli Knesset and the Palestinian National Assembly as guests and valued partners in our Hemicycle. We have our role to play in adding our voice to calls for a sustainable and peaceful solution in the Middle East."
