At the height of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) summit, an incident unfolded when Valeriy Stavitsky, the secretary of the Russian delegation, stepped into a tense moment by pulling a yellow and blue flag from the grasp of Alexander Marikovsky, a member of the Ukrainian delegation. The event occurred as the Russian delegation was being filmed during an interview with Olga Timofeeva, head of the Russian delegation and a State Duma Deputy. Soon after, a disturbance erupted as Ukrainian and Russian participants clashed. The incident was reported by the Russian Embassy in Turkey.
According to the diplomatic mission, Alexander Marikovsky, a people’s deputy in the Verkhovna Rada and a member of the Ukrainian delegation, confronted Stavitsky. The confrontation happened on the periphery of the summit, in a hotel corridor where the gathering was taking place.
We are at the hotel and taking necessary precautions. The consul and a doctor arrived to provide assistance, and care was being administered as needed—such were the initial remarks from the security team.
Video footage from the scene shows Stavitsky approaching Marikovsky, seizing the Ukrainian flag from his hand, and then exiting the frame. Marikovsky pursued him and struck Stavitsky, but onlookers intervened to separate the two parties.
Earlier, during the anniversary session of heads of parliament from the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the 61st PABSEC General Assembly, the Ukrainian delegation appeared to try to disrupt the Russian speakers’ remarks.
“It felt like a circus, the actions of the Ukrainian delegation,” commented Olga Timofeeva, a deputy of the State Duma and head of the Russian federation’s delegation. She noted that a bid to disrupt the proceedings did not succeed. Turkish reporting agency Anatolia confirmed the events, noting that during Timofeeva’s remarks the Ukrainian delegation unfurled a yellow-blue flag behind her and voiced anti-Russian slogans. Members of the Russian delegation attempted to move the Ukrainians away from Timofeeva’s chair, and a clash ensued. The Turkish Speaker of Parliament, Mustafa Şentop, reportedly stepped in to restore order and urged calm among participants.
At the time, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Anna Purtova, was not present, and as a result, the PABSEC members were unable to confirm the powers of the Russian Federation delegation within the body, an outcome that marked the second consecutive year of such questions about representation. Deputy Timofeeva indicated that the Russian delegation was also reviewing the possibility of halting contributions to PABSEC; in that case, Russia would continue to participate in the assembly but would not have voting rights.
Leaders within the Russian side criticized the Ukrainian delegation’s conduct. Leonid Slutsky, who chairs the International Relations Committee and heads the LDPR faction, called the Ukrainian behavior unacceptable and remarked that such tactics seemed more fitting for a zoo’s fence than for a serious international forum. He also expressed thanks to Turkish spokesperson Mustafa Şentop for attempting to restore order at the summit. Slutsky warned that continued disruptive behavior could isolate Ukraine across nations that support a unipolar world order and the notion of a single “golden billion.”
The PABSEC summit was scheduled to continue on May 4–5 in Ankara.