First of all, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine thanked his colleague for the invitation to the Parliamentary Summit of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. “It is very important that within the framework of cooperation in the Danube format, we jointly provide an adequate response to russia's crimes committed in the region,” Ruslan Stefanchuk said, while expressing his gratitude to Austria for its solidarity with Ukraine.
Despite Austria's neutrality, the parties paid considerable attention to the situation on the battlefield and the importance of timely defence support for Ukraine from international partners.
“We have liberated half of the territories occupied by russia, we are destroying the russian fleet in the Black Sea, we are destroying russian aircraft in the air,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk, stressing the importance of defence support from international partners, particularly in the areas of ammunition and air defence systems.
In addition, the interlocutors paid attention to the destruction of civilian infrastructure as a result of russian armed aggression. In this context, they discussed the urgent needs in the humanitarian sphere and the assistance that Austria can provide. Ruslan Stefanchuk proposed that Austria should consider leading an international humanitarian coalition to support Ukraine.
Ruslan Stefanchuk also thanked Austria for its support of the Grain from Ukraine initiative, stressing that Ukraine is ready to continue to contribute to overcoming the problem of hunger in the world.
At the same time, the parties focused on the issue of continuing sanctions pressure on russia. “It is important to weaken russia's ability to finance the war, especially by imposing restrictions on the metallurgical, financial and energy sectors,” said the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine, noting that a global ban on the supply of dual-use goods to russia is necessary.
In conclusion, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Austria for its clear position on full support of the decision to start negotiations with Ukraine on accession to the European Union.