Thank you Madam Chair. Madam President, on behalf of the United Kingdom, welcome back to the Permanent Council and congratulations on your re-election as the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Thank you for your address.
Your presentation, as well as the committee reports from this year's Annual Session in Bucharest, testify to the wide range of issues with which the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly engages. First and foremost is continued support to Ukraine in the face of Russia's illegal invasion. I welcome the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's focus on Ukraine at the top of the agenda. National parliaments have played a tremendous role in maintaining political commitment in capitals and monitoring the OSCE and national governments' actions to support Ukraine.
We were disappointed to see the Russian parliament's recent decision to withdraw their participation. It is not for us to speak for the rationale behind the decision to do so, but one can only conclude from such an action that the delegation were not interested in genuine dialogue or security cooperation. Clearly the best way to return to cooperation is for Russia to stop its illegal war, but I hope that in the meantime the Russian parliamentary delegation reengages, rather than turn away from messages that it may not like to hear.
Beyond the war in Ukraine, in your report you highlighted the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's discussions on the situation in the Middle East. We recognise the direct impact the ongoing conflict has had on our Partners for Co-operation, as well as the wider impacts on the security of the OSCE region, so let me say a few words on this.
The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable - the fighting must stop now. A resolution to this conflict has been a priority for the UK. We want to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages still detained by Hamas terrorists, and much more aid entering Gaza. We want to avoid further escalation in the region. The UK will play our full diplomatic role in ending this conflict and creating a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.
Madam President, you also mentioned the Assembly's work on election monitoring. We are now more than halfway through this year of elections, with several still to take place in the OSCE region. Election monitoring is an integral part of democratic scrutiny, supporting electoral integrity and documenting whether elections are credible and inclusive. It is inspiring to hear you report that we literally have hundreds of parliamentarians observing elections this autumn, coming together in a collective exercise to strengthen democracy across the OSCE. I would like to thank them for their dedication, and especially Michael Creed and Lucie Potůčková for leading the mission to Azerbaijan to observe early parliamentary elections last Sunday.
Madam President, our new Minister with responsibility for the OSCE, Minister Stephen Doughty, worked for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from 2003 to 2004 and looks forward to collaborating with you again from his new position. The UK thanks you, Secretary General Roberto Montella and the wider Assembly for the work you are doing. We offer our full support and look forward to continued co-operation and collaboration.
