Lithuanian parliament calls for no-fly zone over Ukraine

BNS

2022.03.17 12:01 

Lithuanian parliament Seimas / J. Stacevičius/LRT

The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

The resolution “urges the United Nations to take immediate action to secure a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stop mass civilian deaths”.

The document calls on parliaments of democratic countries to work towards the opening of humanitarian corridors on Ukrainian territory while technical measures to enforce a no-fly zone are being prepared.

This could be done by using the United Nation’s mechanism or by creating a coalition of willing and able states to ensure a safe passage of civilians from the war zones and territories illegally occupied and controlled by Russia, according to the resolution.

“The declaration of a no-fly zone would pave the way for active measures to be taken to enable the UN peacekeepers to ensure the security of humanitarian corridors and the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and nuclear waste storage facilities,” it reads.

“We are talking about caring for people, for civilians,” said Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the speaker of the parliament.

The resolution also calls on democracies to impose additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus, which has been contributing to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The parliament urges democratic countries to immediately close their airspace and ports to Russian planes and ships, to ensure that secondary sanctions are imposed on states, individuals, and legal entities attempting to circumvent EU sanctions, and to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The document also urges the EU to grant Ukraine the candidate status and start the negotiation process.

https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1646939/lithuanian-parliament-calls-for-no-fly-zone-over-ukraine