BPS suspends MoU with the Russian Psychological Society
It is with deep regret that the Board of Trustees has taken the difficult decision to suspend our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Russian Psychological Society.
29 April 2022
This is not a decision that the trustees took lightly. We were proud to attend the European Congress of Psychology in Moscow in 2019, and to sign the MoU with our Russian colleagues in 2015.
However, as the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate and create an ever-growing humanitarian crisis for the civilian population, we believe that our priority is standing in solidarity with our colleagues in Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
As with so many international bodies, suspending agreements such as this one is the only way that we are able to express our disapproval at the war crimes being committed on a daily basis against the population of Ukraine.
We would like to stress that this is not a decision taken against individual psychologists, and we understand that many of our fellow psychologists in Russia will be in opposition to the war but in a position where they cannot speak out, and our thoughts are also with them.
While the current situation in Ukraine means that suspending the MoU is the only appropriate course of action, we do hope that it may one day be possible to reinstate the agreement and rebuild our relationship with our colleagues in Russia.