PRESS RELEASE : Ihor Zhovkva met with the leadership of the committees of the parliaments of Finland and the Baltic countries

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 26 August 2022.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva held a meeting with the delegation of the leadership of the committees of the national parliaments of Finland and the Baltic countries.

The meeting was attended by the heads of the foreign affairs committees of the Parliament of Finland Jussi Halla-aho, Estonia – Marko Mihkelson, Latvia – Rihards Kols, Lithuania – Laima Liucija Andrikienė.

Ihor Zhovkva informed the foreign parliamentarians about the current security situation in our country in the context of ongoing Russian aggression. He called for maximum efforts to increase the volume of heavy weapons provided to Ukraine, as well as increase the sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation.

In this regard, Ihor Zhovkva expressed gratitude to the participants of the meeting for signing, together with the heads of the parliamentary committees of Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic, the Joint Statement on strengthening sanctions against Russia for the war being waged against Ukraine.

“An important element of the sanctions should be restrictions at the level of the European Union on issuing visas to Russian citizens,” Ihor Zhovkva emphasized.

The interlocutors discussed the prospects for the participation of the Baltic countries and Finland in a large-scale initiative for the reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular through patronage over one of the regions or cities of our state or the implementation of specific projects.

During the meeting, the status of Ukraine’s implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission necessary for further advancement of Ukraine on the way to EU membership was also discussed in detail.

“The implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission is an ambitious and at the same time realistic task. We consolidated the work of all branches of the Ukrainian government in order to move to the next stage in 2023 – the start of negotiations on joining the EU,” Ihor Zhovkva said.

The heads of the committees of the national parliaments of Finland and the Baltic countries confirmed the unchanging support for the European integration strategy of Ukraine and their determination to provide the necessary expert assistance in the context of our country’s further progress towards membership in the European Union.

Special attention was paid during the meeting to the issue of the activities of the Crimea Platform. The Deputy Head of the Office of the President thanked Finland and the Baltic countries, which were represented at the level of heads of state at the online summit of the initiative held on August 23, 2022.

Ihor Zhovkva emphasized that Ukraine will continue work aimed at the de-occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. For this purpose, our state will initiate the holding of the first parliamentary summit of the Crimea Platform in the near future.