KIEV, January 31. /ITAR-TASS/. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) sanctions against Ukraine are unconstructive because they can only aggravate the situation, PACE Vice-President Ivan Popescu of Ukraine’s Party of Regions told Itar-Tass.

“Sanctions are an unconstructive approach because it is necessary to preserve any platform for holding the dialogue. The sanctions can only aggravate the situation,” Popescu said, adding “Most speakers supported my position.”

“The second problem is that the PACE intends to send rapporteurs to the country. Rapporteurs from the PACE Monitoring Committee are expected to arrive in Ukraine in the middle of February. They will prepare a report on the results of the trip. If the situation aggravates, the report will be submitted to the PACE session in April. Whether the situation normalizes, no additional measures will be taken,” the Ukrainian parliamentarian said.

“A decision on sending the PACE President’s Committee to Ukraine will be taken after the consultations with the ruling coalition and the Ukrainian opposition because the situation in the country requires overall analysis,” he said.

However, Popescu hopes that political forces in Ukraine “will take responsibility for the situation in the country and find ways to overcome the crisis”. “If it necessary, we won’t give up any aid, which will help improve the situation in the country,” the Ukrainian parliamentarian said.