Ukrainian NGOs call upon Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, to review attitudes towards co-operation and strategic partnership with Russia, a country that grossly violates human rights, dismisses principles and norms of international law, and uses armed conflict and violence to pursue its geopolitical interests. Ukrainian NGOs believe that the return of the President of the Russian Federation to a G7 club of the democratic states will be an additional demonstration of the impunity of the state which violates international law, encouraging it for further illegal actions.

The annual G7 Summit will begin in France very soon. Ahead of it, Emmanuel Macron met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A significant part of the meeting was devoted to "the situation in Ukraine". Subsequently, the media reported that in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump, Macron has proposed inviting Russia to the G7 Summit next year in the United States. The Élysée Palace has never refuted this information. In addition, leaders of other G7 member states confirmed that the idea of inviting Russia to a summit indeed was brought up for discussion.

After the occupation of Crimea, Russia was suspended from G8 meetings. In these five years, the Kremlin has not complied with any of the demands of the international community but also continues to grossly violate rules and principles of international law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Crimea is still occupied, and the situation with observing rights and freedoms on the peninsula is only deteriorating. The former resort is being turned into a powerful military base. The Russian fleet, aviation and missiles are already threatening Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, there is an illegal displacement of population, and a system of persecution has been turned against the dissidents.

Every week, Ukraine has to bury those killed in the war in Donbas. The Kremlin still unlawfully detains film director Oleh Sentsov, Donetsk journalist Stanislav Aseiev and hundreds of other Ukrainian citizens behind bars in Russia, occupied Crimea and Donbas. Both the governments of the G7 member states and international organizations have repeatedly drawn attention to this fact (in particular in the recent European Parliament resolution 2019/2734 (RSP) dated July 18, 2019).

This year, France already backed an attempt to change the Kremlin's policy by weakening political pressure against it when agreeing to return the Russian delegation to PACE without fulfilling the previous demands. However, the events of the last months have proven that this had the opposite effect.

Discussion of Vladimir Putin's participation in the next G7 Summit is taking place amid the brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations for fair elections in Moscow and in 40 other Russian cities. In a "profoundly European country", as the French President referred to it, Russian law enforcement forces demonstratively bet peaceful protesters and set dogs on them. The disabled, the elderly, women and children are among the victims.

The magnitude of organized repression is nothing short of striking. According to human rights activists, after just one organized action on July 27, 1388 people were detained in Moscow and transported to 80 police stations. As many as 13 people are being prosecuted under the criminal code article “mass riots”, including a student, winner of the All-Russian scientific Olympics, as well as a man who dropped an empty paper cup on the ground. All these people are facing up to 15 years in prison.

Special mention should be paid to the systematic human rights violations in Chechnya and the decriminalization of domestic violence in Russia, leading to constant human tragedies.

We emphasize that the problem of inequality, which is a priority for the French G7  presidency this year, cannot be solved without the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, because they are prerequisites for the development of every individual.

We appeal to the President of France to review his attitudes toward cooperation and strategic partnership with states that violate human rights and promote inequality.

The leader of the Kremlin's authoritarian regime, which abuses and cynically violates human rights domestically as well as rules and principles of international law abroad, uses armed conflicts and violence to pursue its geopolitical interests, should not be sitting at a G7 table.

NGOs-signatories:
Center for Civil Liberties
Editorship of the Crimean Media BlackSeaNews
Luhansk Regional Human Rights Center “Alternative”
Anti-Corruption Action Centre
Centre for Economic Strategy
European Pravda NGO
DEJURE Foundation
CO Transparency International Ukraine
AutoMaidan NGO
Centre for Global Studies “Strategy XXI”
“New Europe” Center
NGO OPIRORG
NGO StateWatch
Open Dialogue Foundation
Ukrainian Crisis Media Center
Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”

Text in Ukrainian