A petition has been delivered to Parliament, calling for the Russian ambassador to be expelled, and for New Zealand to sever diplomatic relations.
A petition has been delivered to Parliament, calling for the Russian ambassador to be expelled. Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter
Ambassador Georgii Zuev retains his diplomatic posting, despite parties across Parliament wanting him expelled ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.
Ambassador Georgii Zuev. Photo: Supplied / NZ Govt
The petition delivered on Thursday hopes to change that.
"All democracies should just expel whoever represents this terrorist state," said Friends of Ukraine spokesperson Roman Kashpir, who was behind the petition.
A number of countries had already thrown out Russian diplomats and Kashpir wanted New Zealand to follow suit.
"This step is probably a good symbol of New Zealand joining the camp of Western democracies which are standing with Ukraine and in this way fighting for Ukraine," he said.
He was met by a cross-section of MPs and a contingent of Ukrainians living in New Zealand.
Oleksandr Gunchenko, who has been in New Zealand for 23 years, said the past few months had been a constant worry.
"It's quite hard, especially being so far away. Things like the petition and support from local government, it's very important for us."
Russia maintained the invasion was a "special military operation". Its embassy in New Zealand frequently posted in support of the invasion on Facebook.
"If Russian diplomats would stay neutral, as in my opinion they should, and not push their political agenda through, we'd have no problem with them being here," Gunchenko said.
"But on top of what they're doing as diplomats serving Russian people here, there is lots of propaganda happening on their Facebook page. They continue meeting people, going round, spreading this misinformation. And this is what we cannot put up with."
Labour MP Gaurav Sharma accepted the petition and delivered it to Parliament, despite the prime minister and foreign minister maintaining sanctions and asset freezes remain the best options to put pressure on Russia.
"It is a humanitarian issue. We all sympathise with what's happening in Ukraine. At the end of the day, this is one of the processes of getting your voice heard in Parliament," Sharma said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said expelling Zuev remained on the table. But she reiterated her preference for the existing tools.
"The expulsion of diplomats from one country would lead inevitably to the expulsion of our people from Russia. It means we no longer have the ability to assess what continues to happen on the ground in a country, it means we're no longer to provide consular support for our people. There's a range of consequences," she said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says expelling the Russian ambassador here would lead to repercussions for New Zealand diplomats in Russia. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Kashpir supported those moves, but maintained the importance of the expulsion.
"While we have been moving, since then we have seen a lot which is in support in taking this off the table and playing this card."
After being accepted by Parliament, the petition will be assessed by a committee.
Any action could take a long time.
"I think it is not as urgent as it was back in March, probably. We do have time to act now but we should be aware that this time is bought by the blood of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers," Kashpir said.
On Thursday, Parliament also hosted Ukrainian Ambassador to New Zealand Vasyl Myroshnychenko, who is based in Australia. He met with the defence minister, Speaker, and a cross-party group of MPs.
"We had a really positive discussion around exploring ways we can continue to work together and potentially support in the future," said Labour MP Jamie Strange, who co-hosted the meeting.
Gunchenko said Myroshnychenko's visit was incredibly significant.
"Now we can communicate directly with Ukraine, so whatever act we do, whatever petition we want to sign, or whatever fundraising event we want to organise, now we can have direct contact with Ukraine."
Ambassador Georgii Zuev has continually refused to appear before Parliament, or be interviewed by media.
RNZ asked him to comment on the petition. The Russian Embassy said he was out of the country, and unavailable for comment.