Statement by Ireland at the 1483rd Meeting of the Permanent Council
Statement by Ireland on Russia’s detention of OSCE Officials as Part of its War of Aggression against Ukraine
Mr Chair,
Ireland fully aligns with the statement made by the EU and I would like to add some comments in our national capacity.
Ireland has called on many occasions for Russia to immediately and unconditionally release the three OSCE Special Monitoring Mission staff.
Their detention is unjust, illegal and unacceptable. The so-called “sentencing” last week of Vadym Golda to 14 years in prison on fabricated espionage charges is a reminder of the cruel and shameful nature of Russia’s illegal occupation of parts of Ukraine.
This follows the “sentencing” in September 2022 of Maxim Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov.
Mr Chair,
Behind each of these three detained OSCE officials is a family and a community.
The human suffering that Russia is causing for these men and their families, and that Russia is inflicting on families across Ukraine on a daily basis, is indefensible.
Ireland thanks Secretary General Schmid and her team in the Secretariat for their strenuous efforts to secure the release of Vadim, Maxim and Dmytro.
Ireland also thanks the Maltese Chair-in-Office, and previous Chairs-in-Office, for their tireless work on this issue and for keeping this issue high on the agenda.
I reiterate the call on Russia to assume its responsibility as an OSCE participating State and to immediately and unconditionally release Vadim, Maxim and Dmytro.
Thank you, Mr Chair.