The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine held a working meeting with the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska
The Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, arrived in Kyiv on her first visit.
First of all, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk and Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska paid tribute to the memory of the National Guard of Ukraine, who laid down their young lives defending the state, law and human dignity while serving near the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 31 August 2015, and to the memory of the MPs of Ukraine and employees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine who died as a result of russian armed aggression.
“This visit is evidence of the Polish people’s unequivocal support for the Ukrainian struggle against the russian aggressor,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine said, expressing gratitude to Poland for its comprehensive assistance to Ukraine.
During the working meeting, the parties discussed the current security situation. “The enemy does not stop its terror, and Ukraine needs military support,” Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed, while thanking Poland and outlining Ukraine’s priorities, including additional air defence and electronic warfare systems, ammunition, armoured vehicles, drones and anti-drone systems, and long-range missiles.
“We are grateful to Poland for joining the Czech initiative to finance the purchase of artillery shells for Ukraine, as well as for the recent decision of the Polish Parliament to extend the temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed.
The parties also paid attention to European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Poland for its continued support of Ukraine on its path to membership in the European Union and NATO: “These are two crucial directions for Ukraine.”
In terms of European integration, Ruslan Stefanchuk also noted that Ukraine has completed the four steps set out by the European Commission in the Enlargement Package. “Now it is extremely important to approve the negotiation framework as soon as possible,” he stressed.
In addition, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine thanked for the support of the creation of the International Compensation Mechanism for the damage caused to Ukraine by the russian aggression. “It is important that the aggressor be held accountable for the aggression, in particular, by confiscating all blocked assets of the russian federation and transferring them to Ukraine,” said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
“We expect that the next 14 EU sanctions package will include decisive measures against russia. We are not chasing the number of sanctions. The quality and effectiveness of these sanctions are important to us,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk, thanking Poland for joining all EU sanctions packages.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine also thanked Poland for supporting the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the participation of the President of Poland in the Global Peace Summit. At the same time, he called on Poland to assist in attracting countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America to participate in the Summit.
In addition, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed that Ukraine looks forward to the participation of the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, in the Third Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimean Platform, which will be held on 23-24 October in Riga.
Following the meeting, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine thanked the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland for his full support of Ukraine on its path to further European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
For her part, the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, expressed her gratitude to Ukraine for its struggle and European values: “You are fighting not only for your land, but also for the preservation of European values.”
“The foundations of peace and security on our continent, the principles of inviolability of borders, respect for human rights and the right of peoples to self-determination are sacred rights that civilised nations are guided by, and it is for these principles that valiant Ukraine is fighting today,” said Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
She concluded by saying that good coordination of political initiatives by individual governments and parliaments is essential for broad international support: “We must maintain the continued readiness of European countries and the entire Western world to provide material support to Ukraine. First and foremost, by supplying appropriate weapons, which we are confident will allow us to completely repel the russian attack.”
As part of her visit to Kyiv, the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, also spoke from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.