On August 17, Ukraine joined a joint declaration with 20 other signatories, urging restraint and a thorough review of the election results in Venezuela. This declaration, signed on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Dominican Republic's President Luis Abinader, marks the first visit of a Ukrainian delegation to the Caribbean nation in 22 years.
The declaration, backed by countries such as the USA, European Union, Canada, and several Latin American nations, calls on all political actors in Venezuela to uphold democratic principles, respect human rights, and ensure freedom of assembly and expression. It also emphasizes the need to halt violence, release arbitrarily detained citizens, and permit the return of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela.
The signatories stress the importance of publishing the original election protocols and conducting an impartial, independent verification of the results, ideally overseen by an international organization, to honor the will of the Venezuelan people.
This declaration follows the controversial announcement of current President Nicolás Maduro as the winner of Venezuela's recent presidential election, which the opposition has contested, leading to widespread protests and international concern over electoral integrity.
