Territory exchange between Ukraine and Russia impossible, says Ukrainian parliament speaker
Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine cannot engage in a territory exchange with Russia, even by holding a referendum. Violating territorial integrity is against the law, said Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) Ruslan Stefanchuk, Ukrinform reports.
Stefanchuk noted that the transfer or exchange of Ukrainian territories is prohibited both at the legislative and constitutional levels.
"This cannot be resolved even through a referendum. I want to remind you that when we drafted the law on the referendum, the main provision we included was that even in a referendum it is not allowed to violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine. This is something that cannot be destroyed by anyone. And this is the clear position of Ukrainian legislation, the clear position of Ukraine," the Speaker of Parliament added.
He clarified that foreign politicians should keep this fact in mind.
According to Stefanchuk, Ukraine constantly conveys its position to its partners. He personally communicated on this issue with the parliaments of several countries, including Germany and Denmark.
As a result of such negotiations, the speakers of the parliaments of the Baltic states have already issued a joint statement. Stefanchuk expects similar joint statements from the countries of the Weimar Triangle (Germany, Poland, and France), as well as from the European Union.
Trump's idea
Earlier, US President Donald Trump wanted to carry out a territory exchange to resolve Russia's war against Ukraine.
He promised that Ukraine would be given back part of the territories currently under Russian occupation.
For his part, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine will not agree to a territory exchange with Russia, as it is prohibited by the Constitution.
