The president of the Ukrainian parliament will visit Portugal by the end of the year and the Assembly of the Republic will cooperate in the legislative reforms that Kiev will have to carry out in its accession processes to NATO and the European Union.
The formal invitation for Ruslan Stefanchuk to make an official visit to Portugal was made by the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, on Monday, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly summit, which ends today in Washington.
“It was a very important meeting and it allowed me to express my strong condemnation of the recent attacks on Ukraine, which reached very high levels of barbarity. I reiterated the invitation for President Ruslan Stefanchuk to visit Portugal, which he accepted. And so, on a date to be agreed, but certainly by the end of the year, probably sometime in November, this visit will take place,” the President of the Portuguese Parliament told Lusa.
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, who is in Washington accompanied by the vice-president of the Assembly of the Republic Marcos Perestrello, told Lusa that he had agreed with his Ukrainian counterpart to intensify collaboration between the Portuguese and Ukrainian parliaments.
“Between our parliaments, we can move forward with closer collaboration. The Portuguese experience can help with the legislative reforms (for example, in the area of justice) necessary for Ukraine to join NATO and the European Union,” said the former Social Democrat minister.
During his meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco said he had reiterated “Portugal’s official position of support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and NATO”.
“From the Ukrainian president’s side, I received a sincere, true and heartfelt acknowledgement of the support that Portugal has given to the Ukrainian cause from the outset, not only in financial and arms terms, but also in terms of humanitarian, political, geopolitical and communications support. As Portugal is located at the opposite end of the European Union, our role in raising the profile of the Ukrainian cause is very important. And, on the other hand, Portugal can play a role, which it does well, in its relations with third countries, conveying the message that freedom and democracy are at stake for all of us,” he added.
At the meeting, the President of the Assembly of the Republic also told his counterpart that the wounded Ukrainians being treated in Portugal were recently received in parliament, in Lisbon, “and were applauded and shown affection by the Portuguese parliamentarians”.
“We have a heartfelt and genuine relationship with Ukraine,” he said.
On Monday, in Washington, in addition to the meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco had a bilateral meeting with the president of the Estonian parliament, Mauri Hussar.
“We discussed the main challenges for strengthening the European project and the issue of Ukraine, at a time when Kaja Kallas is being considered for the post of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,” he said.
Informally, Aguiar-Branco held talks with the presidents of the congresses of Spain and the United States, and with the leaders of the parliaments of Italy and Poland.
Today, on the sidelines of the formal work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco will also meet with Portuguese-American congressmen in Washington.
The summit brings together parliamentary delegations from the 32 NATO members as well as Ukraine, including 23 parliamentary presidents. This high-level meeting, among other objectives, aims to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the Atlantic Alliance and highlight the positions of the parliaments of the different member states on NATO’s main priorities.
Aguiar-Branco says NATO principles have never been more important than today