At the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Ukraine, the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Poland, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii called for active development and close cooperation within the framework of the Baltic-Black Sea Union.
"For us, the cooperation, closer cooperation with Poland and Lithuania in different fields is a strategic issue. First of all we consider the cooperation in the sector of defense as the consolidation of the Ukrainian army will have to ensure security not only in Ukraine, but also in the whole Easter European region," the Speaker said.
"The first step for the creation of collective security in the Baltic-Black Sea region can be the joint Ukrainian-Polish-Lithuanian military corps," he added.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada called on the colleagues from Poland and Lithuania to assist Ukraine in consultations and to support it in consolidation of its Armed Forces, which may become the shield and the basis for security in the whole Baltic-Black Sea Union.
"Strong Ukrainian army can become a guarantor and a shield for all those states that fear the threat of the Russian occupation. They can count on rapid and effective support of the Ukrainian army and the state of Ukraine on the whole in case of possible aggression from Russia. All we know that Putin's plans are much wider than Ukraine. The thing is merely that Ukraine is No. 1 in the imperial ambitions of the Putin's Russia. We do understand: when it was Georgia, we knew what country would be the next, and we do know now what country would be the next after Ukraine. It could be any of the Baltic countries, it could also be Poland," Andrii Parubii said.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada noted that the Baltic-Black Sea space has not only remarkable geopolitical, but also economic importance. All the players in the region benefit from the deepening of the economic cooperation. Therefore, Parubii called on the colleagues to pay attention to the transit potential of their countries.