The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, and the First Deputy Chair of the Committee, Vadym Halaychuk, met with representatives of the global parliamentary network ‘United for Ukraine’. The parliamentarians arrived in Ukraine on Independence Day to express their support for Ukrainians in their struggle for independence and to work with their Ukrainian colleagues on joint steps to counter Russian aggression. The meeting was also attended by Yehor Cherniev, Deputy Chair of the Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence.
The parliamentarians discussed security issues, prospects for negotiations to end the war, as well as reforms within Ukraine and European integration.
Ukrainian MPs urged their colleagues not to relax and not to expect that any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine would yield quick results. "Unfortunately, Russia's goals in this war have not changed. We see and understand well that Putin is trying to buy time, constantly looking for excuses and fabricated reasons to delay bilateral or trilateral meetings," said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
The Committee Chair is convinced that the European side must be at the negotiating table, because this is about the security of the continent, not just the security of Ukraine. She also stressed the inadmissibility of territorial concessions, because no concessions will stop Russia, but only whet its appetite. ‘Instead, we must mobilise as much as possible to provide Ukraine with additional weapons and continue to put pressure on the aggressor through sanctions,’ said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
During the meeting, they also discussed Ukraine's European integration. The Chair and First Deputy Chair of the Committee called on their colleagues to work to remove artificial barriers to opening the first cluster of negotiations with the EU. ‘At the same time, it is important for us to strengthen the reform agenda in Ukraine and not to deviate from it,’ said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
First Deputy Chair of the Committee Vadym Halaychuk thanked his colleagues from the United for Ukraine network for their solidarity and personal visits to Ukraine. According to him, this is extremely important for further joint work so that support for Ukraine in Europe and the world remains unwavering.