Andreas Norlén, Linnéa Wickman, Sharon Hodgson, Ruslan Stefanchuk and Pere Joan Pons in Stockholm, 24 Nov. 2025STOCKHOLM, 24 November 2025 – Speaking today at the Crimea Platform Parliamentary Summit in Stockholm, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons (Spain) declared the Assembly’s full and unambiguous backing for Ukraine, stressing that any future peace must be grounded in respect for international law and Ukraine’s red lines.

“We stand with Ukraine – its sovereignty, its independence, its territorial integrity,” President Pons told participants. “No compromise. No ambiguity. Only conviction – conviction in democracy, in justice, and in a peace grounded not in the will of the strongest, but in the rule of law.”

Reaffirming the OSCE PA’s long-standing positions, he underlined three principles which have been repeatedly agreed to by the Assembly: no recognition of Russia’s attempted annexation and occupation, no limits on Ukraine’s right to self-defence, and no veto on Ukraine’s alliances or its European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

President Pons also highlighted the Assembly’s recent decision to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, stating: “Every child taken must be returned. This is not diplomacy. This is humanity.”

Addressing the broader European stakes, he emphasized that supporting Ukraine means defending the very idea of a free and democratic Europe. “When we stand with Ukraine, we defend something bigger than any one nation – we defend the idea of Europe itself: its liberty, its dignity, and the right of every nation to choose its future,” the President said.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly remains committed to supporting Ukraine’s recovery through transparent reforms, Pons stressed, which means accountable assistance and the restoration of its full territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. 

President Pons held a number of bilateral consultations, including with leaders of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to discuss ways to ensure regular co-ordination and fully empower dialogue. He was joined in Stockholm by Sharon Hodgson (United Kingdom), the Chair of the Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine. Members of the Swedish Delegation to the OSCE PA, including Johan Büser, Linnéa Wickman, and Carina Ödebrink – as well as former OSCE PA President Margaret’s Cederfelt – also participated.

Carina Ödebrink addresses the side event “Abducted Ukrainian Children: A Call for Collective Action” in Stockholm, 24 Nov. 2025Ödebrink, who serves as the OSCE PA’s Special Envoy on Russian Abductions and Deportations of Ukrainian Children, spoke at a high-level meeting on the margins of the Crimean Platform organized by the Swedish delegations to the OSCE PA and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, entitled “Abducted Ukrainian Children: A Call for Collective Action.” Highlighting the OSCE PA’s recent decision to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, Ödebrink underscored that the international community must remain steadfast in ensuring that the best interests of the abducted children are at the forefront of any peace negotiations.

She noted that the OSCE PA will continue to build international co-operation to put an end to Russia’s unlawful abductions and deportations of Ukrainian children and help bring them home.

Other participants in the event included Speaker of the Swedish Parliament Andreas Norlén and Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk, as well as Olena Khomenko, Chair of the PACE Parliamentary Network on the situation of the children of Ukraine, Thordis Gylfadóttir, Special Envoy of the Council of Europe, and Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University.

There were 41 Speakers of Parliament and 150 other high-level guests at the side event.

President Pons and PSTU Chair Hodgson have designated PSTU member Boris Dittrich as a Special Rapporteur with a dedicated mandate to explore all possible avenues to maximize the Assembly’s contribution to securing the release of the three OSCE officials in detention – Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda.

In this role, Special Rapporteur Dittrich will spearhead initiatives that complement and reinforce the work of the OSCE’s executive branch, particularly the efforts of the OSCE Secretary General and will co-ordinate strategic advocacy and awareness raising activities by the Assembly to ensure alignment with the expectations of the families of the three officials, while maintaining regular contact with them.

Last week, President Pons and PSTU Chair Hodgson, together with Secretary General Roberto Montella, met in Istanbul with Marharyta Shabanova, wife of Dmytro Shabanov, to discuss the case.

For President Pons’s full remarks at the Crimea Platform, please click here.

For more information on the work of the OSCE PA on Ukraine, please click here.