H.E. Mr. Sergii Reva:

I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to address the committee at this crucial moment in the history of my country. I know that members are sincerely concerned about developments there. In fact, we in Ukraine are facing a moment of truth. For all civilised states and people, for each and every European to whom human values ​​are not blank words, the situation is clear - Russian troops have invaded the territory of Ukraine in Crimea under the illegal and groundless excuse of protecting its Russian-speaking population.

Invasion by Russian troops of the territory of sovereign Ukraine is a brutal breach of international law and the guarantees of security to our state given by Russia itself. It is an evident violation of the United Nations Charter. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia bears a special responsibility to safeguard peace and security. The invasion is also a breach of the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, as well as Russia's specific commitments to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 and the bilateral Treaty on Friendship, Co-operation and Partnership of 1997, under which it recognised existing Ukrainian boarders. Russia's actions are likewise a clear breach of the Ukrainian constitution, which specifically recognises the territorial integrity of the country and states that the Autonomous Republic of Crimea may only organise referenda on local matters, not on the modification of the territorial configuration of Ukraine.

Nobody should be susceptible to Russian propaganda which seek to persuade the world it is a peacemaker, wishing only to protect ethnic Russians within the territory of our country from so-called fascists and nationalists. Nobody and nothing threatens Russians or representatives of other nationalities living in Ukraine, including in Crimea. Being a Crimean by origin - I was born in Sebastopol and my mother still lives there - I know the situation in the region quite well. Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars and other nationalities have been living there peacefully for decades. The only bone of contention is to do with language. However, allegations that the Russian speaking-population in Crimea has been deprived of its right to speak Russian are just not true. The abolition by the Ukrainian Parliament of a controversial and mainly politically motivated law on state language policy, adopted two years ago, has been vetoed by the acting President and hence remains in force. There is no reference to depriving Russians of the right to speak their own language. That is not true.

Other problems in Crimea, which are primarily social and economic in nature, occur in every country in the world and are similar to those in other regions of Ukraine. In any case, it is my strong conviction that all problems and misunderstandings which are natural in difficult times can and must be solved through peaceful means, without foreign intervention and with the assistance of international security and human rights institutions, such as the United Nations, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Council of Europe.
Russia is finding more and more excuses to try to justify its aggressive actions. On Monday, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations stated that the former President Yanukovych had appealed to the Russian President to bring troops into Ukraine and produced a sheet of paper with Yanukovych’s signature.I deliberately do not wish to dwell on the moral side of this issue. Even the closest allies of Yanukovych in Ukraine were outraged at his disgusting act of using a foreign army against his own people. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, only the Verkhovna Rada - the Parliament of Ukraine - can legally allow foreign troops to enter the country. As this power is not available to the President, former President Yanukovych did not have the right to invite foreign troops to enter the country. The unprovoked Russian aggression is the price Ukraine is paying for its wish to determine its own future and live as a free and independent state. It is destroying democracy and the European choice gained through struggle by the Ukrainian people.
I will not rehearse the events that led to the current crisis as the facts are well known. The joint committee is well informed about the agreement reached on 21 February between the opposition and ex-President through the good offices of the Foreign Ministers of Poland, Germany and France. The key element of the agreement was the restoration of the Constitution of 2004, which limits the powers of the President. On the day after it was signed, Yanukovych publicly renounced the agreement and stated that he had no intention of signing the law adopted by the Parliament to this end. He later fled Kiev for an unknown destination, leaving behind a ruined economy, a plundered state budget and many luxury private estates and other belongings. Members will be well aware of the details from television broadcasts and reports in the The Irish Times.
Taking into account the absence of a legitimate Government of Ukraine, which resigned in late January, and the President's decision to remove himself from exercising his functions, the Verkhovna Rada, being the only legitimate authority, assumed all power and responsibility for Ukraine on 22 February. Mr. Turchynov was elected as the new speaker of the Parliament. The Verkhovna Rada, in full compliance with the Constitution, conferred on the new speaker the powers of the President of Ukraine until pre-term presidential elections are held on 25 May 2014. I ask that the Dáil and Seanad send representatives to monitor these elections. Many Irish parliamentarians visited Ukraine for previous parliamentary elections and we very much appreciate their objective, unbiased and impartial position. I hope, therefore, that the Irish Parliament will consider the possibility of sending representatives to Ukraine for the forthcoming presidential elections. Mr. Turchynov is the acting President of Ukraine and only assumed this role because someone must exercise the function. Under the Constitution, this role should be assumed by the Speaker of Parliament.
A new Government was formed last Thursday and all European Union member states, including Ireland, as well as the United States and other democracies have recognised the legitimacy of the new state power in Ukraine. However, Russia considers it illegitimate, stating that the opposition has not abided by the agreement of 21 February. This allegation is groundless and non-constructive. The agreement was not fulfilled by ex-President Yanukovych who, as I stated, refused to sign the new law restoring the previous Constitution. Moreover, the Russian position is surprising given that Russia had a representative on the negotiation group, Mr. Lukin, an experienced diplomat and former ambassador to the United States and, I believe, a former ombudsman. Mr. Lukin refused to recognise the agreement before it was signed.
On 1 March 1 2014, Ukrainians and the whole civilised world were shocked by the adoption by Russian law-makers of a decision that gives consent to unleash a war against Ukraine.As of today, a large number of Russian troops have been deployed in Ukraine. I do not propose to discuss this deployment in detail. President Putinstated yesterday that there was no need to send Russian forces to Ukraineat present. I would welcome these words if Russia started to act accordingly. This will require it to take a number of steps. Russia must stop aggression and immediately withdraw its armed forces to the areas where they are permanently stationed in accordance with bilateral agreements on the stationing of the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol. It must disarm the so-called self-defence forces, which are heavily equipped with Russian arms and munitions. It must start negotiations through the good offices of the United Nations and OSCE representatives, with the aim of de-escalating the situation. It must also agree to hold consultations, as foreseen in the bilateral treaty of 1997 and the Budapest memorandum.
We are grateful to the Government of Ireland and Irish people who have shown that they are not indifferent to recent events for their support for Ukraine at this difficult moment in our history. Ukraine appreciates Ireland's firm position enunciated in three successive statements by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. We believe this support will continue to be effective, sustainable and concrete. We see we are not alone at this difficult moment. I call on you, distinguished Irish parliamentarians, to raise your voice and use all your political influence and authority to stop the aggression and prevent a war in the very centre of Europe.