The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis
At the beginning of the meeting, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis for his visit to Ukraine in a difficult time for our country, and personally thanked Alar Karis, the Government, the Parliament of Estonia and the entire Estonian people for their consistent and timely assistance to Ukraine in the fight against the russian aggressor.
“Ukraine is interested in further development of a fruitful dialogue with Estonia in all areas of our mutual interests, enshrined in the recently concluded bilateral Agreement on Security Cooperation and Long-Term Support,” the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament stressed.
He noted the great value for Ukraine of the 19th package of military assistance, as well as Estonia's decision to allocate annual defense support in the amount of 0.25% of the country's GDP over the next four years. “This is a truly leadership decision. This is a new step in the partnership between our countries,” Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasized.
An important topic of discussion was the need to increase sanctions pressure on russia. In particular, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his gratitude for Estonia's proactive position on the sanctions track and its support of the 14th EU sanctions package.
The Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament also stressed the importance for Ukraine of Estonia's efforts to develop a national compensation mechanism. “putin and russia must receive a cheque for the aggression they have started,” he stressed.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also noted Estonia's support for the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. He also expressed gratitude for Estonia's strong position on Ukraine's future in the EU and its assistance in adopting a negotiation framework for Ukraine.
During the meeting, the parties paid considerable attention to the issue of rebuilding Ukraine. Estonia was one of the first countries to start restoring the Zhytomyr region, and therefore the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his sincere gratitude to the President of Estonia. “I am grateful for Estonia's participation in the Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine and look forward to Estonia's further activity in restoring the infrastructure facilities of our country,” Ruslan Stefanchuk concluded.