Prime minister will urge EU to mention Ukrainian pilot in its final resolution
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka will urge EU leaders at the EU summit to push for the release of Ukrainian pilot Nadyia Savchenko who is on trial in Moscow.
Sobotka (Social Democrats, ČSSD).
The Czech Senate on March 16 voted in favor of a resolution stating that Russia is obliged to release Savchenko under the Minsk agreements, which call for the release of all hostages and persons detained due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Some 29 out of 40 the senators who took part in the vote were in favor of the resolution. It was opposed by the Communist Party (KSČM) and the Party of Citizens’ Rights (SPO).
“It would please me if the European Council’s final conclusions mentioned the need for the Ukrainian pilot Nadyia Savchenko to be released in accordance with the Minsk agreements. I will propose this on behalf of the Czech Republic as part of the European Council’s final resolution,” Sobotka said.
The KSČM blocked a discussion on a similar resolution in the lower house of parliament, but the opposition TOP 09 got 91 deputies ouf of 200 to sign a letter calling for Savchenko’s release. The letter was sent to the Russian embassy in Prague.
Savchenko has been charged with the murder of two journalists and illegally crossing into Russia. She faces up to 23 years in prison.
Savchenko pleads not guilty, and her supporters claim the case is fabricated, and that she was was captured in Ukraine and taken to Russia against her will.
She started a hunger strike March 4 to protest how her case is being handled. The court in Moscow may issue a ruling next week.