On the sidelines of the first day of the Conference of the Presidents of the EU Parliaments in Prague, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine continued a series of working meetings with the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament Lorenzo Fontana and the Speaker of the Riksdag of Sweden Andreas Norlen, the Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia Edvards Smiltens, as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands Vera Bergkamp and the President of the Senate of the Netherlands Jan Anthonie Bruijn.
The main topics of the meetings included Ukraine’s path to the European Union and NATO, the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression and bringing russia to justice for its crimes, as well as the implementation of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s peace formula.
During a meeting with the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, Lorenzo Fontana, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed gratitude to Italy for the support Ukraine has already received on its way to the European Union, as among those who voted for the candidate status, there was a vote in favour from Italy.
The Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine expressed hope that this year it would be possible to talk about the opening of negotiations on Ukraine’s full membership in the European Union: “Despite the war, the Parliament of Ukraine continues to work and pass all the necessary laws.”
At the same time, he stressed that the issue of justice is important for Ukraine, in particular, the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, which is the first crime that gave rise to all the other atrocities committed by russia in Ukraine. Ruslan Stefanchuk also invited Italy to support the peace formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine invited the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament to visit Ukraine to see the results of russian aggression with his own eyes.
During a conversation with the Speaker of the Riksdag of the Kingdom of Sweden, Andreas Norlen, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed gratitude to Sweden for its military, financial and humanitarian assistance.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to the Speaker of the Riksdag of the Kingdom of Sweden to recognise the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people, as it is important for Ukraine to restore historical justice.
For his part, Andreas Norlen noted that further coordination of efforts is needed to continue to assist Ukraine. He assured that support will be provided to Ukraine as long as it is needed.
During a meeting with the Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia Edvards Smiltens, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed gratitude for all the assistance provided, including military and financial. He also stressed the importance of Ukraine’s path to the European Union and NATO, thanking Latvia for its support.
For his part, Edvards Smiltens noted that the Vilnius Summit should be held with specific statements on Ukraine.
“Ukraine has fulfilled all the recommendations and is ready to start negotiations on full membership in the EU,” Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed during a meeting with Vera Bergkamp, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, and Jan Anthonie Bruijn, the President of the Senate of the Netherlands. “Full peace will come not only after the victory on the battlefield, but also in all international judicial institutions. Ukraine needs a complete victory over the aggressor,” said the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine.
The colleagues assured that the Parliament of the Netherlands is ready to fully support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and will fight together to the end. At the same time, the President of the Senate of the General States of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Jan Anthonie Bruijn noted that the Netherlands would join the rebuilding of Ukraine: “You are defending not only yourselves, but the whole of Europe.”
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, invited the heads of parliaments to take part in the Second Parliamentary Summit of the Crimean Platform, which will be held on 24 October in Prague.