Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the President of the Portuguese Assembly
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic Augusto Ernesto Santos Silva, who is on a visit to Ukraine for the second time, but for the first time as the President of the Parliament.
First of all, Ruslan Stefanchuk thanked his Portuguese colleague for his excellent speech during the plenary session and sincere words of support from the Republic and the people of Portugal.
“This is a truly historic meeting for our countries. It is the first time in the history of Ukrainian-Portuguese relations that the Speaker of the Parliament is making an official visit to Ukraine. And it is especially pleasant to see you as part of such a large multi-party delegation and to feel that, despite political views, the issue of Ukraine unites the entire Portuguese Parliament,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
He also thanked for all the consistent support that Ukraine receives from Portugal, especially military support, such as tanks or the expected batch of armored personnel carriers, which is a vital necessity for our country today.
“Timely and sustainable supply of ammunition and additional weapons is extremely important for us. Each military aid for Ukraine means saved lives of Ukrainians,” emphasized Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The parties also focused on the implementation and support by Portugal of an important initiative of Ukraine – the President Zelenskyi’s peace formula, which, according to Ruslan Stefanchuk, outlines “our vision of the necessary steps to ensure a just peace in Ukraine and security for the whole world.”
The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament also thanked his Portuguese counterpart for supporting our European and Euro-Atlantic path and called for support for these aspirations at the level of the Portuguese Assembly.
During the meeting, they also discussed important political decisions adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Portugal, in particular, support for Ukraine from the first days of the full-scale invasion, and Portugal’s joining the working group on the establishment of a special international tribunal for russia for crimes committed in Ukraine. Ruslan Stefanchuk also called on the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic to consider recognizing russia as a terrorist state and all its special military agencies, corporations, organizations, including wagner, as terrorist organizations.
Taking this opportunity, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament invited his Portuguese counterpart to take part in the second Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimean Platform, which will be held this year in Prague.
“Your visit is an important manifestation of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and support in such a difficult time for us. Your speech and important words testify to the great friendship between our peoples. I am convinced that the cooperation between our parliaments will be as strong as the cooperation between our peoples today,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasized in conclusion.
The President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, Augusto Ernesto Santos Silva, assured his Ukrainian counterpart of further support for Ukraine. According to him, this is evidenced by the powerful delegation of the Portuguese Parliament, which includes representatives of all political forces of the Assembly.
He also emphasized that the cooperation between the two parliaments is an important factor for Ukraine’s future in the EU and NATO.
“Our Parliament is ready to provide its step-by-step experience on the way to joining the EU, in particular, in the preparation of technical issues. These ideas are basic, simple, but they are very workable and can lead to the desired result,” the President of the Portuguese Assembly suggested.
He also focused on the peace formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
“We believe that many people can talk about peace, but the real right to talk about peace is held by those whose peace has been encroached upon by others. We guarantee you our support until russia leaves all the occupied territories of Ukraine,” Augusto Ernesto Santos Silva emphasized.
At the same time, he emphasized an important area of work with the countries of the Global South, where Portugal has many mechanisms of influence in terms of interparliamentary cooperation with countries such as Brazil, Angola, India, and other southern countries, and is ready to work with them to support Ukraine.
We are using all the mechanisms available to us to counteract the wrong ideas. The war in Ukraine is a war between representatives of all European countries. All those who support true peace, independence and sovereignty should support Ukraine in its struggle,” the President of the Portuguese Parliament emphasized.