The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk held a videoconference conversation with the newly elected President of the Portuguese Parliament, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco
The parties discussed defense support for Ukraine, Ukraine's path to the European Union and NATO, the implementation of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and interparliamentary cooperation.
First of all, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasized that Ukraine highly appreciates Portugal's comprehensive support in countering russian military aggression — defense, humanitarian and financial, as well as providing temporary asylum to Ukrainians who were forced to leave Ukraine.
At the same time, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his gratitude for Portugal's decision to allocate 100 million euros for the purchase of artillery shells for Ukraine under the Czech initiative. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine are in dire need of additional units of military equipment of various types," he said, adding that Ukraine would be grateful for the expansion of military assistance.
In addition, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine emphasized that Ukraine is actively working to create a mechanism of effective security guarantees. He thanked Portugal for being one of the first countries to join the Group of Seven Joint Declaration on Support for Ukraine and for launching bilateral negotiations on a draft security agreement.
"We are grateful to Portugal for supporting the European Council's decision to start negotiations with Ukraine on EU accession and look forward to continuing the relevant assistance," Ruslan Stefanchuk said. He stated that it is important that the negotiation framework and the convening of the First Intergovernmental Conference be approved as soon as possible.
"The Vilnius Summit of the Alliance has clearly confirmed that Ukraine's membership in NATO is only a matter of time," said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. He emphasized that Ukraine is counting on Portugal's active involvement in building consensus on Ukraine's invitation to join the Alliance at the NATO Summit in Washington.