You're reading: Moscow concerned about non-transparent constitutional reform in Ukraine

Moscow - The Russian Foreign Ministry is concerned about the non-transparent constitutional reform in Ukraine, which is not covered in the media and has no connection with the public.

“It is disturbing that the constitutional reform, if it has actually
started, is being conducted behind closed doors, without the appropriate
media coverage and a broad debate involving independent experts and
public organizations, which is absolutely necessary in such cases,” says
a report posted on the ministry website on Wednesday.

Now of all times Ukrainian politicians could have proven their
readiness to listen to the opinion of their voters, the ministry said.

“We think that reports regularly posted by parliamentarians, close
public monitoring of the constitutional process and the publication of
materials covering this work, in particular, in Russian and languages of
other ethnic groups wherever that is necessary should be an
indispensible attribute of the work on the new Ukrainian constitution,”
the report continued.

There has been no tangible progress on the Ukrainian constitutional
reform although about a month has passed since the Ukrainian parliament
adopted a resolution “On the Establishment of the Ad Hoc Special
Commission of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada for Drawing up a Bill of
Amendments to the Ukrainian Constitution,” the ministry remarked.

It doubted that “Ukrainian people’s deputies, members of the
aforementioned commission, no matter how impressive their earlier
services may look, can arrive on their own, without substantive
interaction with the public, at a draft document addressing the needs
and aspirations of all interested segments of Ukrainian society, without
imbalances and harm done to the interests of regional elites.”

“We are confident that the goal and result of the elaboration of a
draft law on the amendments to the Ukrainian constitution should not be a
retouching of earlier texts but a profoundly innovative public
agreement, which Ukraine’s poly-ethnic society will see as solid and
credible, aimed at a long-term future and guaranteeing the equality of
regions and nationalities, the foundation of a law-governed state
without which Ukraine will be unable to resolve the pressing political
tasks, which, in particular, are linked to preparations for the
forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, not to mention the
recovery from the profound economic crisis into which the country was
plunged by the opportunism of politicians and the irresponsibility of a
series of governments that took little interest in the life of average
citizens through all these years,” the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.

“The lack of a balanced fundamental law of the country, which will
take an adequate account of interests of all ethnic and language groups,
is the cause of political cataclysms that have been shaking the
foundations of the Ukrainian state for years, disturbing its
fundamentals and calling into question Ukrainian citizens’ capacity for
independent life and personal development,” it said.