The leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine met with the parliamentarians of the United for Ukraine (U4U)
23 February 2023, 15:15
The leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine met with a delegation of the United for Ukraine, an association of parliamentarians from EU member states, in the Parliament of Ukraine.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko, the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk, the Chairman of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko.
The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament thanked his European colleagues for another visit to Ukraine as a manifestation of the steady and powerful support of our country during the year of full-scale war with russia.
“The visits of the U4U group are already an event and a phenomenon in our relations. I thank each of you for your courage, for coming together and supporting each other, Ukraine and the Ukrainian people despite the danger,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
He also added that U4U is a powerful tool for promoting decisions in support of Ukraine in national parliaments, a format that has shown its viability and allows us to work for victory today.
During the talks, the parties discussed a number of pressing issues related to the current situation in Ukraine and possible solutions in favor of our country to win a full-scale war with russia. In particular, they discussed the strengthening of the existing so-called “tank coalition” of countries to provide military assistance to Ukraine and the support of European parliaments for the creation of an “aviation coalition”.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also called on his European colleagues to lobby their national parliaments for important political decisions for Ukraine, such as: recognizing the Holodomor of 1932-33 as genocide of the Ukrainian people; recognizing russia as a terrorist state; creating a special tribunal to bring russia to justice for the crime of aggression; strengthening sanctions policy against russia; using frozen and confiscated assets of russia to rebuild Ukraine; blocking russia’s membership and presence on all international platforms and institutionalizing the support and patronage of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s peace formula; advocacy for Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO.
“The format of our communication with you is a manifestation of great support and commonality of all those who share civilizational values that unite the nations and peoples of Europe and the world. Ukrainians today are at the forefront of defending these values, paying an extremely terrible and high price. But we see that we are not alone. Together we will win!” Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasized at the end of the meeting.
On behalf of the parliamentarians of the group, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr. Zygimantas Pavilionis, emphasized that the members of the group are ready to promote Ukraine on European platforms and in their national parliaments.
“Weapons, weapons, weapons... As soon as possible. We will also support your membership in NATO, which should be done as soon as possible. We have 15 delegations and this is very important in the European Parliament because we have the opportunity to lobby and make decisions that Ukraine needs,” emphasized Mr. Pavilionis.
His colleague was supported by Alicia Kearns, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who also emphasized that the civilized world will be with Ukraine until the end of the war and especially after it is over.
“U4U is ready to work for the Ukrainian people. We will support you, because we understand that aggression and terrorism will not lead to peace,” Alicia Kearns assured her Ukrainian colleagues.
