“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has become a platform for diplomacy. Many leaders of countries, heads of parliaments of the world come to visit and speak under the dome. We work according to the diplomatic strategy of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and coordinate with the foreign policy team headed by the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrii Yermak,” said the First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko during the expert roundtable “NATO Summit: Vilnius outcomes – Washington’s perspectives”.
The First Deputy Speaker noted that a large number of bilateral meetings were held in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and for the first time in history, a joint global meeting of the committees of the European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was held: “Many contacts took place in international arenas – some of them for the first time – and we opened up new areas for dialogue.” He added that this allows us to maintain the world’s attention to Ukraine, reach important decisions and bring the realisation of our goals closer.
“We expect positive decisions on the start of accession negotiations, in particular, the approaching date of the change of the status of candidates for membership in the European Union,” Oleksandr Korniienko said.
In addition, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed that the Ukrainian Parliament has long been working in the NATO-Ukraine regime. “We have never been as close to the Alliance as we are now,” Oleksandr Korniienko said, adding that expert opinions are therefore important and necessary for the most effective implementation of all plans.
“We are facing a difficult autumn. The main goal remains the same – victory. We must work in unity, in the same direction and with common ideas. This is the key to achieving our goal,” the First Vice Speaker concluded.
The event was attended by the MPs of Ukraine: the members of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation – the Deputy Chairman of the Committee Oleksandr Kopylenko, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee Arsenii Pushkarenko, the Secretary of the Committee Andrii Sharaskin, the members of the Committee Ihor Kryvosheiev and Olha Rudenko, as well as the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union Vadym Halaichuk.