Vice-Speaker Olena Kondratiuk appeals to Latvian MPs to facilitate Ukraine's associate membership in the JEF military coalition
The Deputy Chairwoman Olena Kondratiuk met with a delegation of the Latvian Saeima Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada headed by its Chairman Janis Skrastins..
The Vice-Speaker thanked Latvia, as a reliable ally and strategic partner, for its continued support of Ukraine at all levels: the Parliament, the President, the Government, the entire Latvian society and the volunteer movement.
«Latvia also strongly advocates Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO. This support and solidarity is very strong and consistent. As we said at the meeting, it does not depend on the election results or political changes in Latvia itself,» emphasized Olena Kondratiuk.
Vice-Speaker Olena Kondratiuk appeals to Latvian MPs to facilitate Ukraine's associate membership in the JEF military coalition and obtain the consent of the participating countries.
«Latvia is a member of this military coalition. For Ukraine, the JEF is not an alternative to NATO, but a powerful rapid response tool that allows us to flexibly counter threats from russia. The role of parliaments in this process is key, as they shape the political positions of their countries,» she outlined.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada also appealed to the Latvian Parliament to extend the term of the «Law On Support of the Civilian Population of Ukraine». It regulates the procedure for providing 80,000 temporarily displaced Ukrainians with asylum and assistance in Latvia.
«It is important to increase sanctions pressure on russia in the energy sector and the so-called ‘shadow fleet’. It is also important to return Ukrainian children abducted by russia and bring the perpetrators to justice,» Olena Kondratiuk said.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleksandr Mischenko, Co-Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Parliamentary Group on Interparliamentary Relations with Latvia Taras Tarasenko, member of the group Maksym Dyrdin, and Ambassador of Latvia to Ukraine Ilgvārs Kļava.
The Vice-Speaker thanked her colleagues for their joint work to strengthen the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Latvia.