In its resolution Dáil Éireann rejects the validity of the referendum held in Crimea on 16 March without the minimum democratic guarantees which cannot pave the way for a change of borders between Russia and Ukraine.

It condemns the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation which violates the sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Irish parliamentarians calls on all parties, and particularly the Russian Federation, to pursue immediately the peaceful resolution of the situation regarding Ukraine, in full respect of its bilateral and multilateral commitments to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The resolution commends the measured response shown so far by Ukraine and calls on the new Ukrainian authorities to ensure they maintain inclusive and representative governmental structures, reflecting regional diversity, to ensure the full protection of the rights of all persons, including those belonging to national minorities, to undertake constitutional reform, to investigate all human rights violations and acts of violence and to fight extremism.

Dáil Éireann welcomes the holding of Presidential elections in Ukraine on 25 May 2014 and underscores the right of the Ukrainian people to choose their own constitutional framework without outside interference.