During his official visit to the Republic of Poland, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the Marshal of the Sejm of Poland Elzbieta Witek.
The parties discussed Ukraine’s European integration and Euro-Atlantic path as well as the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported to the russian federation.
First of all, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his gratitude to the Polish people, the President of the country and the Parliament – the Sejm and the Senate – for the support Ukraine receives today.
At the same time, Ruslan Stefanchuk noted that Ukraine expects a positive interim assessment of Ukraine’s implementation of the seven recommendations of the European Commission: “If there are any comments, we are ready to work to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union this year.” “You have been a supporter of Ukraine in the EU from the very first days and have done everything to ensure that Ukraine received candidate status. And I know that now you are doing everything to ensure that at the Vilnius Summit we also receive an answer about our future and our prospects in NATO,” he said.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called on the Sejm of Poland to adopt a resolution in support of Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance. At the same time, he expressed gratitude for the decisions already taken, in particular, the recognition of russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and the condemnation of the crime of genocide in Ukraine. “These are not just words of solidarity, these are concrete steps and actions that you are taking for our cooperation, demonstrating great solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” Ruslan Stefanchuk said.
“Today, the entire civilised world is standing up for values and principles. That is why it is very important that every crime committed in Ukraine is punished and convicted,” said the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine, expressing gratitude to Elzbieta Witek for her leadership role in protecting Ukrainian children forcibly and illegally deported to the russian federation.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine informed that an action plan entitled ‘Returning Children to Ukraine’ is currently being developed and will be approved by the President of Ukraine. He invited Poland to join the support of this initiative at the level of the Sejm.
For her part, the Marshal of the Polish Sejm noted the good relations between the parliaments of Poland and Ukraine, stressing the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in the context of war. “When it comes to the attitude towards Ukraine, we have a full political consensus and the same mutual understanding,” Elzbieta Witek emphasised.