During his working visit to the Republic of Austria, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk held his first working meeting with the Federal President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen.
First of all, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine expressed his gratitude for the personal leadership position within Austria on solidarity with Ukraine and humanitarian support for our country.
Ruslan Stefanchuk also stressed the importance of assistance in strengthening humanitarian aid to Ukraine. He expressed his belief that Austria is capable of leading the international coordination of the issue on humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
“Any humanitarian assistance is important for Ukraine: ambulances, construction and municipal equipment, prosthetics, rehabilitation,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed, adding that everything is essential for the functioning of Ukrainian territorial communities.
“Ukraine is in its third year of full-scale war. It has been ten years since the russians occupied Crimea. Despite all the predictions, Ukraine is holding on and holding back the russian occupiers' offensive,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk, noting that it is extremely important for Ukraine to receive all kinds of assistance from its partners to continue the fight: “russia is a serious enemy, so timely assistance is also important.”
The parties also touched upon the topic of humanitarian demining. Ruslan Stefanchuk, for his part, expressed hope for continued assistance from Austria in this area.
Special attention was also paid to Ukraine's European integration. “I am counting on Austria's political support for Ukraine's further movement towards full membership in the European Union,” said the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine. “After our last meeting, Ukraine received the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union – now we are moving towards full membership in the EU,” he added.
Finally, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk and the Federal President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. “Ukraine highly appreciates Austria's readiness to participate in the implementation of specific points of the initiative,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk.