Volodymyr Aryev, the Chairman of the Ukrainian delegation for RBK-Ukraine

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) urges Russia to release the detained Ukrainian sailors. PACE adopted the relevant resolution on Thursday, January 24, as Volodymyr Aryev, the Head of the Ukrainian delegation, reported on Facebook.

103 members voted “for”, three – “against”, 16 of them abstained.

Aryev noted that the adopted resolution reflects all the necessary positions the Ukrainian delegation supported.

“Probably, in some moments as in the situation with the conventions and POWs have now a different wording, but it never changed its sense. “POWs” were replaced with “compliance with the obligations of Geneva conventions”, but it implies considering the prisoners as POWs,” the Head of the Ukrainian delegation said.

Earlier, German MP Andreas Nick, appointed as the reporter on Azov Crisis, had presented the first draft report on the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation.

The two-page decision of the Assembly was named “Escalation of tension around Azov Sea and Kerch Strait and threatens to European security.”

Despite the fact that the Russian aggression is not mentioned in the name, the project generally is balanced and contains the claimants and demands to the country-aggressor.

The PACE offers to approve the demands to the Russia Federation

- urgently release the Ukrainian sailors;

- provide them with necessary medical, judicial consular service;

- provide the free passage through Kerch Strait for the Ukrainian vessels;

- not to allow the use of the force even if the Russian Federation thinks that the vessels violate the territorial waters.

It was proposed that PACE should state about the support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea and support the deployment of the international monitoring mission, which would guarantee the free passage of the vessels through Kerch Strait. Germany and France promote this initiative.

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