There is no crisis in relations between the President and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, but there is a constitutional crisis in relations between the Ukrainian people and the remaining authorities. It was stated by Advisor to the President of Ukraine - Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, commenting on the latest decisions of the Parliament, in particular the refusal to dismiss the Head of the Security Service, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defense.
"Today there is a big crisis not in relations between the President and the Parliament. I think today there is a big constitutional crisis in relations between the people of Ukraine and the remaining authorities. We see the level of public distrust in many institutions of power. We see a barren resistance, consolidation of efforts of those who do not want changes. Within the limits defined by the Constitution of Ukraine, we will take all measures so that the President has the opportunity to influence the situation and meet the request of the Ukrainian people for change," Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.
According to him, the motives of the Parliament in refusing to dismiss the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine pursuant to the submission of the President are unconstitutional.
"The President of Ukraine has made a submission, within the limits of his competence, for the dismissal of those officials to whom he is entitled. In no way has he exceeded his authority. The Verkhovna Rada, on the other hand, put forward a series of other conditions incomprehensible for me as a lawyer. For example, to name the successors. These are unconstitutional demands," the Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada emphasized.
At the same time, Ruslan Stefanchuk noted that the parliamentary adoption of the draft law on temporary commissions of inquiry and temporary special commissions of the Verkhovna Rada did not solve the problem of establishing the mechanism of impeachment of the President.
"Impeachment is a procedure that goes beyond the work of the Verkhovna Rada. Impeachment is a separate constitutional-legal procedure. It has different components. There are procedures that precede the establishment of a temporary commission of inquiry and the ones that come after it. That is why President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a separate bill concerning impeachment as an integral constitutional-legal procedure. The Verkhovna Rada did not even include it on the agenda," he said.
Also, the Advisor to the President reminded that the draft law on the abolition of parliamentary immunity (No. 7203) was registered in the Verkhovna Rada, and the Head of State called for its approval together with the draft law on impeachment.
"If this issue is not resolved, we will introduce a new constitutional provision already in the new convocation of the Verkhovna Rada resolving the issue of abolishing the full immunity of all three categories of officials. These individuals will not be legally immune as now. All officials in Ukraine should have equal rights with each Ukrainian," Ruslan Stefanchuk said.