International Publishers Association claims they are seeking the ways to support Ukrainian publishers

International Publishers Association (IPA) sent a reply to the Ukrainian Publishers and Booksellers Association’s open letter in which we asked to support the sanctions. The reply was published on the official website of the International Publishers Association.

In the letter, it was stated that a lot of IPA members are monitoring the situation and looking for the ways to support Ukrainian publishers.

«We condemn this criminal Russian invasion in the strongest possible terms. The IPA was founded with the intention of supporting peace. Our first President, Georges Masson, stated at our inaugural Congress in 1896 that the first International Publishers Congress … is one of many gatherings whose purpose is to multiply peaceful relations between nations, in encouraging the visible tendency of peoples to join more and more through a community of interests», – said in the letter.

It was also mentioned that the IPA President Bodour Al Qasimi, on behalf of the association, expresses her solidarity with all the publishers in harm’s way and supports Ukrainian Publishers and Booksellers Association.

«In times of peace, books have a powerful uniting force. In times of conflict, books are even more important in fostering hope, supporting reconciliation, and cementing peace. All our Ukrainian colleagues are in our thoughts, and I hope that peace will be restored very soon», – emphasizes the IPA Secretary General José Borghino.

It will be recalled that earlier Ukrainian Publishers and Booksellers Association appealed to IPA to endorse the strongest sanctions. Moreover, PEN International released the statement demanding Russia to stop the attacks on Ukraine. It was signed by 25 regional PEN clubs.