Declarations
Reservations
Articles: 26, 45
Reservation:
"The Russian Federation in accordance with Article 42 of the Convention shall not consider itself bound by the obligation to assume costs, as provided for in the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Convention, resulting from the participation of the legal counsel or advisers or from court proceedings, except for those costs that may be covered by its system of legal aid and advice."
19-07-2016
Unofficial translation
Statement on the Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
"Reaffirming its firm commitment to respect and fully comply with generally recognised principles and rules of international law, the Russian Federation, with reference to the declaration of Ukraine of 16 October 2015 regarding the Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, states the following.
The Russian Federation rejects to the above mentioned declaration of Ukraine and states that it cannot be taken into consideration as it is based on a bad faith and incorrect presentation and interpretation of facts and law.
The declaration of Ukraine regarding "certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine" cannot serve as a justification for non-compliance with its obligations, disregard for humanitarian considerations, refusal or failure to take necessary measures to find practical solutions for issues that have a very serious and direct impact on the ability of residents of those regions to exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms provided for by international law.
The declaration of independence of the Republic of Crimea and its voluntary accession to the Russian Federation are the result of a direct and free expression of will by the people of Crimea in accordance with democratic principles, a legitimate form of exercising their right to self-determination given an aided from abroad violent coup d'état in Ukraine which caused rampant radical nationalist elements not hesitating to use terror, intimidation and harassment against both its political opponents and the population of entire regions of Ukraine.
The Russian Federation rejects any attempts to call into question an objective status of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the territories of which are an integral part of the territory of the Russian Federation under its full sovereignty. Thus, the Russian Federation reaffirms that it fully complies with its international obligations under the Convention in relation to this part of its territory".