Verkhovna Rada Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov has said he believes that the visit by a number of MPs from the For Peace and Stability parliamentary group to the Russian State Duma should be viewed as disrespect for Ukraine and a betrayal of the country.
‘Of course, we have no right to block the exit and entry of people’s deputies, but I believe that this trip is disrespectful to the country and is a treacherous position,’ he said at a briefing on Wednesday, 17.
Turchynov said that this group of deputies ‘never votes for Ukraine’ when parliament adopts important laws related to strengthening of the country’s defense.
‘So I think that it’s a treacherous position during the voting and during these trips,’ he said.
For Peace and Stability group was formed in the Verkhovna Rada on July 2, 2014. Turchynov said at a parliament meeting at that time that the group was composed of 32 deputies. Former members of the Regions Party, Vitaliy Hrushevsky and Yevhen Balitsky, as well as a former member of the Ukrainian Communist Party faction, Oleksandr Prysiazhniuk, became authorized representatives of the group.
As of Sept. 17, the parliamentary group included 36 parliamentarians. Most members of the parliamentary group earlier represented the Regions Party. The group also includes several MPs who left the faction of the Ukrainian Communist Party.
