The SNP has led an international call for Russia to respect Ukraine’s independence.
In another blunt signal of opposition to Vladimir Putin,
the party’s defence spokesman Stewart McDonald organised a joint open letter from parliamentarians around the world condemning ongoing military action in Europe.
The letter, which is signed by politicians from Scotland, England, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Australia and Canada, is timed to coincide with Ukrainian independence day tomorrow.
It backs ongoing sanctions against the Putin regime, which seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea six years ago and which continues to support proxy forces in breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Some 13,000 people have died in continuing fighting and 1.5m have been forced to flee their homes.
The letter says: “The international community must continue to stand by Ukraine, by recognising its independence, its territorial integrity and the right of its people to live peacefully.
“We must continue to uphold economic and political sanctions on Russia for its war against the Ukrainian people.
“Ukraine, a nation at war on the continent of Europe, must not be forgotten in a world not short of issues competing for international attention.”
As the main party campaigning for Scottish independence, the SNP has been eager to be seen upholding the sovereignty of newer states like Ukraine, which formally cut ties with the old Soviet Union on August 24, 1991. Neighbouring Belarus, where a popular protest movement is seeking to overthrow Europe’s last dictatorship, declared its independence a day later.
The SNP has also been critical of the UK Government’s response to the Belarusian crisis, describing Whitehall’s response as “timid”.
However, Mr McDonald has secured support for his letter from Tory MP Alicia Kearns and Labour’s Chris Bryant, as well as his Westminster SNP colleagues Alyn Smith, John Nicholson and Martin Docherty-Hughes.
Asked why he had organised the letter, Mr McDonald said: “As Ukraine celebrates its independence day, it is for many of its citizens a reminder of how hard won independence is each and every single day. As a politician who has a strong belief in the right of nations to determine their relationship with the wider world, I think it is important to lend your support and your solidarity to those whose daily struggle is to put that into practice.
“As the war in the east of Ukraine carries on and the illegal annexation of Crimea brings misery for many, it is important that our fellow European citizens in Ukraine know that their struggle hasn’t been forgotten by the world – especially their nearest neighbours on the continent of Europe.
“This is a small gesture of solidarity, but I believe it an important one. Reaching out to fellow parliamentarians and legislators across Europe, Australia and Canada and asking them to join a display of friendship, but also an assertion of democratic and peaceful values, will, I hope, show those in towns like Avdiivka – on the front line of the ongoing war in Donbas, where I visited two years ago – or Crimean Tatars, that they have friends around the world who haven’t forgotten their struggle and want to see greater efforts to end Russia’s war against their country and deliver peace.”
The Russian Government has long argued that Crimea is Russian - and many locals do believe this to be the case. Mr Putin’s government shortly after annexation organised a referendum on the topic. The poll has been widely criticised. This dragged Scotland in to the region’s politics. Russia responded by repeatedly citing Scotland’s independence referendum, with its state media spreading claims the Scottish vote was flawed too.
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