Address by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk at the Opening of the IV Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform
Thank you, dear Andreas.
Honourable Mr Speaker, Distinguished heads of delegations, Madam Minister,
Dear friends,
First and foremost, allow me to express my sincere gratitude to our Swedish partners and friends for their warmth and hospitality in this cold time of year, as well as for the exceptionally high level of organisation of our now traditional Forum.
I am especially grateful to a great friend of Ukraine, Speaker Norlén, for the decision to host this year’s Fourth Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform.
I am pleased to see among the permanent participants the heads of the parliaments of Croatia, the Czech Republic and Latvia, who hosted the three previous forums.
I thank every one of you present in this hall not only for coming to Stockholm.
I am sincerely grateful for the enormous assistance your countries have consistently provided to Ukraine for almost four years since russia’s full-scale invasion.
On behalf of the Ukrainian people, On behalf of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,
On behalf of the representative Ukrainian delegation gathered here today — a large group of members of the Ukrainian Parliament representing the full parliamentary political spectrum.
Today, we have gathered to speak about Crimea.
And we will speak about it.
We will speak about how russia is turning the Crimean Peninsula into a military base used in its aggression against Ukraine and threatening the security of the entire Black Sea region.
About how Ukrainian schools are being closed in the russia-occupied Crimea, how sites of global heritage are being destroyed, and how cultural assets are being illegally removed.
About how russia’s “shadow fleet” is exporting stolen Ukrainian grain from Crimean ports.
About how citizens who disagree with the regime’s actions are persecuted.
How they are thrown into prisons.
How they are denied freedom of speech and religion, the right to receive education in their native language, and the right to preserve their national identity and cultural distinctiveness.
And about how proud we are of those who — representing different peoples, including Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks and Karaites — continue their struggle and resist the actions of the russian occupation administration.
But we will also speak about how, together, we can stop russian aggression and creeping occupation.
How to put an end to the violation of international law.
How to bring clarity to those who still believe that anything can be negotiated with russia.
And also about what a real peace plan for Ukraine must be.
Dear friends,
As you know, last Thursday in Kyiv we officially received from the American delegation led by U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll the draft plan — the United States’ vision for ending the war.
We agreed that our teams — from Ukraine, the United States, Europe and from around the world — will work on these proposals.
And yesterday, our delegation held the first round of negotiations with our American partners.
As President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said last night: “There are signals that President Trump’s team is listening to us.”
We are ready to move toward a genuine peace — one that will not be destroyed by a new invasion.
Allow me to outline our key principles.
From the first day of this war, Ukraine has sought a peace that respects our independence, sovereignty and dignity.
Ukraine is ready for substantive negotiations to end the war — including at the level of leaders.
At the same time, we must define Ukraine’s “red lines,” which no one has the right to cross.
Not physically.
Not legally.
Not morally.
No legal recognition of russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories.
No restrictions on Ukraine’s defence forces.
No veto on Ukraine’s right to choose its future alliances.
Any genuine peace process must be based on the principle: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, and nothing about Europe without Europe.
Yes — and we will never renounce our language, our faith or our national identity.
Yesterday, during a tour of the Riksdag, Speaker Norlén showed me the first constitution of Ukrainian Hetman Pylyp Orlyk, dated 1710 — the first in Europe, and therefore in the world — displayed here for your acquaintance.
The presence of this unique Ukrainian document in the Swedish Parliament carries profound symbolism and great meaning for me as a constitutional scholar.
Because the Constitution and the will of our people are another red line that no one must ever violate.
I am convinced that an essential component of any real peace plan — one that will inevitably bring about an end to russian aggression — is strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities, protecting our skies, and safeguarding critical infrastructure.
Your consolidated and unconditional support for Ukraine — the victim of aggression — dear friends, is a vital, if not decisive, element of such a peace plan.
We must move forward in finalising and providing Ukraine with robust security guarantees from the world’s leading democracies — a united Europe and the United States.
At the same time, we must intensify sanctions pressure on russia until putin is ready to conclude peace.
Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and NATO must also be integral elements of both Ukraine’s security guarantees and the peace plan.
Only under these conditions will russia retreat.
Because it will finally understand that conquering and subjugating Ukraine is impossible.
That Ukraine has forever become part of a world where tyranny has no place and where democracy prevails.
We sincerely believe that the consolidated strength of our partners can indeed bring closer the peace we all desperately need — and we have no right to waste this opportunity.
Therefore, I ask each of you to use your influence in working with our partners — the U.S. administration and Congress, European parliaments, and the parliaments of all countries of goodwill — to ensure that all key principles are duly considered.
Dear friends,
A decisive moment in our struggle is approaching.
The struggle for Ukraine.
The struggle for Europe.
The struggle for a lasting and just peace.
We are under enormous pressure from the enemy, from his deceitful propaganda, from exhaustion and from losses.
But there is another pressure that does not allow us to surrender or stop fighting.
And this pressure is much greater.
It is the pressure of conscience.
It is the pressure of memory — of all our victims and all our suffering.
It is the pressure of responsibility for the future.
And it will not allow us to retreat.
Thank you for your attention.
Glory to Ukraine.