We were shocked by the degree of bitterness with which most MEPs sitting in Strasbourg were willing to talk about matters that do not concern them and that they do not even try to grasp. The debate on 13 March 2024 showed that the European Parliament is exploiting the sensitive issue of minors in conflict zones.
MEPs, distorting the facts, accused the Russian authorities of allegedly "deporting children" and "abducting" them from their families. They portrayed Russia as a terrible and ruthless monster. At the same time, the European Parliament is completely unconcerned about the living conditions of the children that our country is saving by taking them out of the hostilities zone.
We are doing our utmost to ensure the safety of the children and to alleviate their suffering, we are trying to reunite them with relatives and loved ones in Russia and, we emphasise, in Ukraine. If a child, regardless of status or whereabouts, has a parent or other relative with the appropriate rights, the family has every opportunity to be reunited.
All this work under the leadership of the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights is transparent, and regular reports are published in the form of bulletins that everyone - even MEPs - can consult. We have repeatedly stated that the Commissioner’s Office is open to cooperation with representatives of international organisations and foreign officials.
Yet, most MEPs appear to have no time to study the documents; their sole aim is to try by all means to turn the European public against our country.
Like previous exercises in anti-Russian propagandaby MEPs, this latest attempt to play on the emotions of their own voters is disgusting. All the more so as the emergency evacuation of children is a direct consequence of the conflict in Ukraine provoked by the European Union.
