The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine met with the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords
In the framework of his official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, Baron John McFall.
The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament once again thanked the Kingdom, the British people and the Parliament for the comprehensive support that Ukraine has been experiencing since the first days of russia’s full-scale invasion of our land.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, in particular, stressed that his visit is a manifestation of “the high level of interparliamentary cooperation that exists between our countries”. Therefore, one of the main topics of the conversation was the strengthening and deepening of interparliamentary relations and cooperation between the two parliaments. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine focused on Ukrainian initiatives, the support of which in the British Parliament would be extremely important for Ukraine to win the war.
In particular, Ruslan Stefanchuk called on his British colleagues to recognise the russian federation as a terrorist state, support the creation of a special tribunal for the aggressor country for its crimes and the development of a mechanism for reparations in favour of Ukraine, support the peace formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi; and recognise the Holodomor, which took place 90 years ago, as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
“These historic decisions and the support of parliaments are important for us because they provide a political and legal basis for further persecution of putin and his regime by international institutions,” Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasised.
The meeting also focused on political support for Ukraine on its path to full membership in NATO. The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament called on the Leader of the House of Lords to take the lead in consolidating the efforts of both Houses of Parliament and the UK government in this important issue for Ukraine.
The interlocutors also touched upon the Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in London in June this year. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine thanked for the support of the initiative and stressed that “the issue of restoring Ukraine is a matter of success for the entire civilised world”.
The Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, Baron John McFall, warmly welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart to one of the oldest Parliaments in the world.
He also assured that the UK and its Parliament had provided and would continue to provide all possible support to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. According to him, following the President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s address to the UK Parliament, work has already begun on strengthening and deepening military assistance.
In addition, John McFall took an active interest in the activities of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine during the war, in particular, the legislative process, cooperation of factions and groups of the Parliament under martial law, restoration of self-government and functioning of authorities in the liberated territories, etc. He also offered his Ukrainian counterpart full cooperation and assistance in organising the Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine in London.