"russia's unprovoked and unjustified aggressive war against Ukraine has changed Europe. russia's invasion of Ukraine has exposed many problems and pointed to the fragile structure of the security architecture," said Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, at the opening of the High-Level Conference "Ukraine's European Integration – the Path to Sustainable Peace on the European Continent".
He noted that today the first task is to support the Defence Forces of Ukraine: "Weapons and ammunition are the only thing that can stop the aggressor today. The required nomenclature is known, the volumes are known. We need decisions and actions."
"The next task is to rethink international instruments of cooperation – organisations that were created in other historical realities, and therefore had different goals and tools," said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine stressed that Ukraine has its own vision and offers it to the world: "The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has proposed a Peace Formula aimed at bringing peace back to Ukraine. But it also has another ambitious task – to jointly develop new algorithms for coexistence and interaction in the world." He also expressed gratitude to the European Union and most democratic countries for supporting the Formula. "We are working on expanding the range of participants in Asia, Africa and South America," added Ruslan Stefanchuk.
"Unity with Ukraine, demonstrated during the invasion, has become a catalyst for change and an obvious answer to the question of the future of the European Union," the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine said.
At the same time, he stressed that countries that share common values and principles, a common understanding of the importance of choosing democratic development should be united and integrated with each other to the maximum extent possible: "This is the main prerequisite for the strength of the Union. Its ability to defend itself and develop according to the chosen model."
"The Commission's objective assessment of Ukraine's progress and its recommendation to the Council will be decisive in the political decision-making of the EU leaders in December this year," the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine concluded during the High Level Conference "Ukraine's European Integration – the Path to Sustainable Peace on the European Continent".