The head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs H.Hopko has had numerous meetings with Italian parliamentarians to further closer cooperation
Within her working visit to Rome, the politician met on November 13-14 with her colleagues from the Foreign and European Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament – in particular, Marta Grande, President, Paolo Formentini and others.
During the meetings, she highlighted the ongoing hybrid warfare Russia wages against Ukraine and the terrible price Ukraine pays for its commitment to the European Union’s fundamental values. Hanna Hopko also noted that establishing close contacts with the new Italian Parliament is the key to productive inter-parliamentary cooperation in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic.
The parties also discussed the measures of counteraction to the Russian aggression in the Donbas and in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, as well as the situation in the occupied Crimea - in particular, the need to protect the human rights of the locals.
Hanna Hopko invited the Italian colleagues to visit the Donbas to verify in person the tragic aftermath of the Russian aggression.
In the course of the visit, the committee head also met with the Director General for Political and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Sebastiano Cardi. In their talks, the parties paid special attention to information on the consequences of the Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, Russia's failure to comply with the Minsk agreements, Ukraine’s expectations from the Italian presidency in the OSCE, and so on.
In his turn, S. Cardi expressed his appreciation for the inter-parliamentary contacts between the two countries, which could allow Italian deputies from pro-Russian political forces to better understand the situation and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The Italian diplomat briefed on the results of the Palermo Conference on Libya - the issue, which the Italian foreign policy is currently primed for.
Despite close ties between Rome and Moscow, S.Cardi underscored Italy’s firm standpoint over Ukraine’s sovereignty and the Minsk commitments, which should be met for lifting sanctions. The Oleh Sentsov case was also deliberated minutely.
The sides talked over Ukraine’s day-to-day affairs, the cultural reintegration and the functioning of the Ukrainian Institute in Italy with leading Italian experts, the mass media and professor O.Pakhliovska from Sapienza University of Rome.