Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk met with students of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
03 March 2023, 19:15
During a working visit to Lviv, the Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk held a conversation-lecture with students of political science, history and international relations of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
Olena Kondratiuk spoke about the work of the Parliament in the context of a full-scale invasion and about the most important decision that was promptly voted by the Parliament on February 24, 2022, the approval of the Presidential Decree on the introduction of martial law.
“The main state institutions – the President, the Verkhovna Rada, the Government – continued to work in Kyiv, thanks to the resistance and heroism of our Armed Forces and all defense forces. It was a major strategic defeat for putin. Ukraine did not drown in anarchy, russia was not able to take advantage of the chaos in the government, which they were counting on,” the Vice Speaker said during the conversation.
The interlocutors also discussed the crucial role of the parliaments of the EU and NATO countries, our cooperation and dialogue with them. Olena Kondratiuk emphasized that it is in these parliaments that final decisions on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO will be made. “And these are crucial decisions about our future, welfare and security, to which our education system must provide quality answers. First of all, in the training of specialists in international affairs and national security,” said Olena Kondratiuk.
She also drew the youth’s attention to the fact that, in response to new realities and challenges during the war, our parliamentary diplomacy has become especially important.
“The Rada has made an important contribution to advocating for Ukraine’s EU candidate status. We have adopted 39 European integration laws, including those to implement the seven main recommendations of the European Commission. We have done everything in our power to ensure that Ukraine can start negotiations on accession to the EU this year. We have adopted 33 statements and appeals of the Ukrainian Parliament to the international community calling for condemnation and counteraction to russian aggression,” Olena Kondratiuk told the students about the most important achievements on Ukraine’s path to the EU and in cooperation with European and global institutions.
In turn, the students were particularly interested in the issue of expelling russia from all international organizations, which was categorically supported by the Vice Speaker, who emphasized that “russia has no place in the civilized world.”
In addition, Olena Kondratiuk emphasized the results of inter-parliamentary diplomacy, which has become especially important since the beginning of the war. In particular, she spoke about the active work of parliamentarians on international platforms and in parliamentary assemblies, with the leadership of the European Parliament, on working trips to the parliaments of the EU and NATO countries, and at forums such as the G20. She emphasized the launch of the parliamentary dimension of the de-occupation of Crimea, namely the powerful First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimean Platform in Croatia.
“As Vice Speaker, I alone had 73 foreign meetings in 11 countries. People came from all over the world to visit us in the Verkhovna Rada. To solidarize, to support, to form a common agenda. There have been 26 official visits of the heads of national parliaments and dozens of delegations from other countries,” said Olena Kondratiuk.
At the end of the meeting, she wished the students, no matter how difficult it may be, not to lose their resilience and faith in the Victory, to do everything in their power to bring it closer.
“Prepare yourselves for active participation in the reconstruction and renewal of post-war Ukraine. To study, acquire and apply knowledge in practice. Share and promote European values: equality, freedom, democracy, human rights. Because we will all soon be citizens of the European Union. I believe in this. Just like I believe in our membership in NATO after the Victory,” emphasized the Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.