28 Beal 2014, 17:15
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade has this afternoon welcomed the transparent elections held in challenging circumstances in Ukraine on Sunday and congratulated Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko on his victory.
28 May 2014
The Committee is continuing to monitor developments in Ukraine, liaising closely with both the Ukrainian and Russian embassies in Dublin. The Committee also commended the contribution of the 17 Irish election observers who took part in the OSCE mission monitoring mission there.
Chairman of the Committee Pat Breen TD says: “That the elections on Sunday were undertaken broadly transparently and in line with international standards is to be warmly welcomed, given the hugely challenging circumstances Ukraine has faced in recent months. Notwithstanding the security difficulties in Eastern Ukraine, the high turnout in the rest of the country is testament to the courage of ordinary Ukrainians in engaging with the democratic process. The Committee is hopeful that the outcome of the election will provide for an end to violence in Ukraine.
“We wish President-elect Poroshenko well in his efforts to reunite his country, and with his ambitious programme of political reform to curb corruption. On behalf of the Committee, I met both the Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland Sergii Reva and Russian Ambassador to Ireland Maxim Peshkov last week and will continue to liaise closely with both embassies on the progress being made to secure peace and stability in the region.”
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade
Deputies:
Pat Breen, Fine Gael (Chairman)
Eric Byrne, Labour
Bernard Durkan, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
Seán Crowe, Sinn Féin
Olivia Mitchell, Fine Gael
Gerald Nash, Labour
Dan Neville, Fine Gael
Brendan Smith, Fianna Fáil
Maureen O’Sullivan, Independent
Senators:
Deirdre Clune, Fine Gael
Mark Daly, Fianna Fáil
Lorraine Higgins, Labour
Michael Mullins, Fine Gael
David Norris, Independent
Jim Walsh, Fianna Fáil