During his working visit to the Republic of Latvia, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with a loyal friend of Ukraine, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, Saeima Edvards Smiltens.
During the meeting, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his sincere gratitude to the people and authorities of Latvia for their comprehensive and constant assistance to Ukraine throughout the period of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“There is no area which Latvia has not helped Ukraine in! I am grateful for this! Everything that Ukraine needs, Latvia does, and it does it quickly and efficiently.
Latvia has already provided Ukraine with weapons, ammunition and military goods worth over EUR 388 million. As a percentage of the national GDP, this is 1.3%,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine stressed.
In particular, the parties discussed the further continuation of defence assistance to Ukraine, which, according to Ruslan Stefanchuk, “is crucial for achieving our common victory today”.
However, the main goal of the meeting was to reach an international consensus on Ukraine’s path to NATO on the eve of the Vilnius Summit.
“I hope that in neighbouring Lithuania, historic decisions will soon be made for both Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine said during the talks.
The speakers also focused on this issue in their post-meeting press conference. In particular, Ruslan Stefanchuk once again thanked the people, the Government and the Parliament of Latvia, represented by Speaker Edvards Smiltens, for supporting Ukraine’s path to NATO.
“I am grateful that on the eve of the historic event in Vilnius, you are convening a parliamentary summit to once again confirm the strong support of all parliamentarians, all friends of Ukraine for our future in NATO,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine said.
At the same time, he called on Latvia not to doubt Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic and European integration future, because it is our common future.
“Ukraine will never fail. Ukraine will win this war together with you, and Ukraine will always appreciate the contribution of Latvia and other partner countries to our victory in this war,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine said.
For his part, the Speaker of the Saeima of Latvia, Edvards Smiltens, noted that following the inter-parliamentary event in Riga, the speakers of the parliaments of the three Baltic states, as well as Poland and Germany, would adopt a joint declaration on the upcoming NATO Summit.
“The NATO Summit in Vilnius will determine the security of our region and the future of Ukraine. In January, when I visited Kyiv, I said that Ukraine has already won its place in the EU and NATO. And the Latvian Parliament and Government will do everything in our power to strengthen our support and help Ukraine every step of the way,” said Edvards Smiltens.