02 MARCH 2014, 17:16
A phone conversation between Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov and Patriarch of Moscow and the all Rus Kirill was held on Sunday
( Press Secretary of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine).
In the course of conversation that was held at the initiative of the Russian Party, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Turchynov told Patriarch Kirill that there are no reasons to speak about discrimination on grounds of language, nationality or religion in Ukraine. “There were no such facts that there will not be,” he stressed.
Apart from this, the Chairman of the Parliament emphasized lack of “judicial, political or any other reasons for bringing Russian military contingent into the Crimean peninsula.”
“Blocking and seizure of civil and military objects poses a real threat to Crimean population,” he added.
Oleksandr Turchynov asked Patriarch to tell President V.Putin “of the necessity to stop aggression against Ukrainian people that endangers the whole region and can lead to termination of our good-neighborly relations.”
“Any issues, stressed the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, between our countries should be resolved by negotiations and on the principles of parity that should base on mutual respect.”
The issue of European integration is one of our priorities, – Oleksandr Turchynov
( Press Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat )
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov met with Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister of the Hellenic Republic Evangelos Venizelos on Sunday.
In the course of the meeting, Parties discussed current situation in Ukraine, attaching special attention to the developments in Crimea.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada informed that the Ukrainian Party “has addressed its partners, guarantor-states of territorial integrity and security of Ukraine under the 1994 Memorandum, with a request to meet their commitments in regard to our country.”
In his turn, Evangelos Venizelos stressed that the issue of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders is “an extremely sensitive topic” for Greece. Thus, stressed the Deputy Prime Minister, “we fully understand Ukraine and will support its stand in any possible way.”
Apart from this, according to Evangelos Venizelos, Ukraine is “undoubtedly a European state. That is why it is extremely important that Vilnius agreements were implemented and the Association Agreement was finally signed.” “Signing of this Agreement is not the end of Ukraine’s way to Europe, it’s only the beginning,” he added.
Oleksandr Turchynov informed that the Government has cancelled the “Yanukovych-Azarov” resolution on termination of European integration of Ukraine. “Previous leadership tried to block our way to Europe, but the issue of European integration is one of our priorities,” he summed.
