Responding to reports of an agreement between Ukrainian President Yanukovych and opposition leaders, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House panel that legislates on international human rights, released the following statement:

    “The agreement deserves our full support. Its main elements – return to the 2004 constitution, national unity government, and early presidential elections – are all just. They provide a framework in which the deep conflicts in Ukrainian government and society can be worked out through the democratic process by the Ukrainian people. If honored by both sides, this agreement can defuse the bloodshed, prevent further tragedy, and take Ukraine toward a more effective and transparent democracy.

    “I call on our government to do everything possible to support the agreement, which was worked out by the elected representatives of the Ukrainian people.”

    Rep. Smith is a leader in human rights legislation and the Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, an agency that monitors and advocates on human rights in the 57 states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including Ukraine.Click here to read Rep. Smith’s Feb. 10 statement in support of the recent House resolution supporting Ukrainian democracy, and here to read a Feb. 19 statement on the tragic violence in Kyiv.

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