The leadership of the Verkhovna Rada committees met with a delegation from United for Ukraine
A meeting between the leadership of parliamentary committees and a delegation from the international parliamentary network United for Ukraine (U4U), which brings together MPs and politicians from more than twenty European countries, took place in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, chaired by Vadym Halaychuk, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union.
The Ukrainian parliament was also represented in the talks by Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union, and Yehor Cherniev, Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Representatives of the Verkhovna Rada emphasised that integration into the EU and security issues remain key for Ukraine even in the context of war. «We are grateful for the support, but today it is especially important not to allow attention to Ukraine to wane amid talk of possible negotiations. russia has not changed its goals, and therefore it is time to mobilise our efforts,» said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
Yegor Cherniev stressed that despite heavy fighting, the Ukrainian army is holding back the aggressor, and over the past thousand days, the enemy has been able to capture less than one per cent of the territory. «We are open to negotiations, but not at any price. Our red lines are territorial integrity, sovereignty and Ukraine's right to independently determine its foreign policy course,» he said.
European parliamentarians confirmed their readiness to continue defending Ukraine's interests in their parliaments. Barry Ward, Chair of the Irish Parliament's EU Affairs Committee, emphasised: «Ukraine is fighting not only for itself today, but also for the values of the whole of Europe. We have no right to allow this struggle to continue without our help.»
For her part, former Member of the European Parliament Viola von Cramon-Tautadel noted: «We know how high a price the Ukrainian people are paying. It is our duty to do everything possible to ensure that this sacrifice is not in vain.»
And Inara Murniece, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Latvian Parliament, emphasised: «Ukraine is already part of the European family. Our task is to make this fact legally binding as soon as possible.»
Following the meeting, the parties adopted a joint statement in which the international parliamentary network United for Ukraine confirmed its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within the 1991 borders, called for real security guarantees for our country and further supplies of weapons, in particular air defence systems and ammunition. The statement also emphasises the need to introduce new sanctions against russia, establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, use the aggressor's frozen assets for the benefit of Ukraine, and set 1 January 2030 as the target date for Ukraine's accession to the EU, provided that all criteria are met.