ALDE PACE (The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) released a statement on 20 April expressing concern on the escalating situation in Eastern Ukraine. The statement comes ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s annual address at the Federal Assembly.

ALDE PACE reminds that “this conflict in the very heart of Europe” has already claimed more than 13.000 lives and calls to “avoid any provocation which may ignite the region and increase the number of victims”.

ALDE PACE has outlined four key messages on the situation, including:

• Russian military build-up and aggressive rhetoric and actions must stop.
• De-escalation is urgently required in the region and all effort should be put into finding a political solution to the conflict.
• Russia must restore transparency and information sharing about its military activities in line with the OSCE standards and uphold its OSCE commitments and Council of Europe statutory obligations.
• Granting the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) full and unhindered access to all areas controlled by separatist forces in the Donbas region is more important than ever. Russia should use its influence to guarantee such access.

Access the PACE statement in full here

Earlier this month, ALDE Party – led by President Hans van Baalen – issued a statement on the situation in Eastern Ukraine, calling on President Putin to immediately pull back the troops from the border.

@ALDEParty @PACE_News express concerns about the escalation of tensions and ongoing destabilistion in Estern Ukraine. We call for: end of 🇷🇺 military build-up, a political solution to the conflict and reiterate our support to 🇺🇦 sovereignty and territorial integrity#PACEVoices pic.twitter.com/fYuaDBEnRG

— Jacques Maire (@JMaireofficiel) April 20, 2021