Declaration 12th March 2022

1Stockholm /Berlin /Bremen /Brussels /Copenhagen /Hamburg /Helsinki /Kiel/Mariehamn /Riga/Reykjavík /Oslo/Schwerin /Tallin /Tórshavn /Vilnius /Warsaw12 & 22 March 2022Declaration by Heads of the BSPC DelegationsWe, the Heads of the Delegations to the BSPC of theParliament of DenmarkParliament of EstoniaParliament of FinlandParliament of the Federal Republic of GermanyParliament of IcelandParliament of LatviaParliament of LithuaniaParliament of NorwayParliament of PolandParliament of SwedenParliament of ÅlandParliament of the Hanse atic City of BremenParliament of Faroe IslandsParliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of HamburgParliament of Mecklenburg -VorpommernParliament of Schleswig -HolsteinBaltic AssemblyEuropean ParliamentNordic Council,reiterate in the strongest possible terms our condemnation of the completelyunjust and full -scale brutal military attack and invasion being carried out by theRussian Federation against the sovereignty, i ndependence and people of Ukraineas expressed in the statement of the BSPC President and Vice -President from25 February 2022.Day by day, the attacks on Ukraine are posing a more dangerous threat to peace,stability and democracy across Europe and the world. They defy the rights andfreedoms of all Europeans, not just those of Ukrainian citizens.These attacks are contrary to both international law and European security. Theyviolate the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the basicprinciples of International and Humanitarian Law.2 Every day, innocent people are killed in a despicable manner. The images ofinnocent civilian victims keep shock ing the world. This war has already triggeredthe biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War.These military attacks deep ly violate the fundamental principles of our 31 years ofcooperation.We underline that we strongly condemn any violation of international law andhuman rights. Respect for international law and human rights, peace anddemocracy , are fundamental principles that the BSPC has pursued since itsfounding in 199 1, also expressed in our Rules of Procedure , and has emphasisedagain and again.These are the foundations of our parliamentary cooperation.At our 30th Annual Conference , we unanimously pointed out the urgent need ofpeaceful and close neighbourliness. We underlined again that democratic values,the rule of law and human rights are the foundation of our cooperation.As long as these fundamental principles and goals have now been dramaticallyviolated by the unprovoked , illegal and brutal military attack and aggressioncommitted by the Russian Federation against sovereign and democratic Ukrainewhich was initiated by parliamentary decisions regarding Donetsk and Luhan sk,we see no possibility of continuing our parliamentary cooperation as envisagedwith the Russian parliaments and Russian observer institutions within theframework of the BSPC.Therefore , we have decided to ensure the suspension of the Russian parliamen tsfrom the Annual Conference, the meetings of our working bodies , proceedings,work and projects of the BSPC until cooperation under the fundamental principlesof international law will once again become possible.The secretariat has been instructed to suspend until then the Russian memberdelegations and Russian observer institutions from all invitations to meetings.We reaffirm our wish and intention to continue the crucial and successful work ofthe BSPC for the benefit of the entire Ba ltic Sea Region.The Swedish BSPC Presidency in close coordination with the BSPC StandingCommittee will ensure the proper adjustment in these changed circumstances.Our decision takes immediate effect , will be published on the BSPC website andwill be further substantiated in the meetings of the Standing Committee and theAnnual Conference.