The attempt to launch a public dialogue in Ukraine has so far failed, State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said.
“Two public roundtables have been held in Ukraine over the past week,
but representation was limited,” he said while opening a roundtable in
the State Duma on Wednesday, which focuses on the Ukrainian issue.
There are just a few days to go before the presidential election due
on May 25, Naryshkin said. “I am afraid that the dialogue can end at
that,” the speaker said.
“And the process has a strong trace of an imitation of dialogue,” the speaker added.
“It appears to us that officials in Kyiv have focused their attention
on suppressing dissent and holding the May 25 election at all costs,”
Naryshkin said.
Meanwhile, the main question is whether the upcoming election becomes
a step towards de-escalation of the crisis and the deep conflict that
has hit Ukrainian society, he said.
“It is, of course, the Ukrainian society who has the key role in
deciding the legitimacy of the election,” the speaker said. Russia has
repeatedly and persistently proposed to Ukrainian officials to start a
broad public dialogue involving all political forces, aimed at drafting a
public agreement to be enshrined in the constitution, Naryshkin
recalled. “In our view, this is the only way to restore peace in
Ukraine,” the politician said.
The current situation in the neighboring republic is close to a
humanitarian disaster and it is sad that “the coup d’etat resulted” in
hundreds being killed, thousands injured and millions fearing for their
safety, the Duma speaker said. “The Odesa tragedy does not fit into the
image of a civilized society and state at all,” he said.
