Forced return of persons liable for military service to Ukraine is impossible - Head of Foreign Affairs Committee of Verkhovna Rada Merezhko
Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation and a member of the "Servant of the People" faction, has made a statement regarding the forced return of Ukrainians liable for military service from abroad. According to him, there are currently no ways or opportunities for this. Moreover, the parliamentarian believes that such a procedure is impossible.
Merezhko said this in a comment to Ukrinform, Censor.NET reports.
The MP noted that representatives of some European states did not rule out the possibility of developing a mechanism for the return of men liable for military service to Ukraine. However, as Merezhko clarified, this mechanism did not include the idea that Ukrainian citizens would be returned by force.
According to the MP, Ukraine cannot in any way influence certain political decisions of its international partners, which are made on the basis of the principles of the rule of law and democracy. He also added that democratic states must have some grounds for the forced return of Ukrainian citizens liable for military service.
"Most of the Ukrainian men who are in the EU countries are mostly there legally or left before the full-scale invasion of the Russian aggressor. That is, they are not criminals and are not subject to extradition," the MP said.
The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Foreign Affairs Committee said that he currently sees no way to force the return of conscripts to Ukraine. In his opinion, this is basically impossible.
"At the moment, I do not see any ways or possibilities for our citizens to be forcibly transferred to Ukraine. And it seems to me that this is impossible in principle," Merezhko said.
The MP also said that the issue of the forced return of persons liable for military service is not currently on the agenda of inter-parliamentary diplomacy.
Finally, Merezhko added that the issue of returning Ukrainians who can defend the state with arms in their hands is a matter of morality.
"The return of our people home is a matter of morality. And I see no way to influence them by any legal means," said the representative of the "Servant of the People" party.
Merezhko also recalled that the Ukrainian authorities had issued an appeal to men of military age who could hold a weapon to return home and help defend the country.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said that Ukraine would not forcibly return men of military age from abroad.
