Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze to COSAC participants: “If you don't want to commemorate your best sons and daughters, as we do now every day, help us defeat Russia”

The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU spoke at the session of the COSAC conference devoted to the situation in Ukraine and its relations with the EU. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked the Spanish Presidency of the EU for keeping Ukraine in focus for the past six months. She noted that these days Ukraine is commemorating the victims of the Holodomor, the genocide that the Russian Soviet regime committed against the Ukrainian people 90 years ago.

“If the world had not silently watched people die of hunger in the centre of Europe, if the Bolshevik regime had been punished in the same way as the Nazi regime — perhaps we would have a different world now,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. Today, according to her, the Russian Federation is also committing genocide against the Ukrainian people. Only the dictator's name has changed. The Chair of the Committee thanked all European parliaments for honouring the memory of Ukrainians starved during Holodomor and for recognising it as genocide against the Ukrainian people and called on other parliaments that have not yet adopted such resolutions to do so.

According to Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Ukraine is fighting for the values that the entire free world believes in — freedom, dignity, the rule of law, the opportunity to determine its future and build a free, prosperous country. She called on European parliaments to do everything possible to continue supporting Ukraine, first of all, with weapons. Only in this way Ukraine together with its allies can defeat Russia: “We Ukrainians dream of focusing only on European integration, on the transformation of our country, on social issues and environmental policy. But to be able to do so, we must first defeat Russia.”

Freezing the conflict, according to her, means allowing the monster to regroup and attack again. Trading the territories of Ukraine will not bring any lasting peace. “We should not be afraid of defeating Russia. Because fear is exactly what fuels this monster. This monster is attacking your countries in various ways, turning migration into a weapon, using disinformation, supporting radicals,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. According to her, in 2021, Putin clearly communicated his goals. He wants to return to the borders of 1997. “If you, dear colleagues, do not want to commemorate your best sons and daughters in the future, as we do now every day, help us. Increase support for Ukraine, help us defeat the Russian Federation,” said the Chair of the Committee.

She also called on European partners to support the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine and to invite it to NATO at the next summit in Washington: “Sending a signal to Russia that Ukraine can’t become a member of NATO while the war continues, you are giving it an excuse to do everything to make this war last forever.” She called, instead, to show determination and make a clear decision on Ukraine's membership in NATO.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze also noted that granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership was a tectonic shift in EU policy. She expressed hope that already this year the EU will decide to open negotiations with Ukraine and become a real geopolitical giant. “I hope that every European government will support the next historic decision in December... You are not helping Ukraine out of charity. You make a significant contribution to the security of your countries and your people. Together we will build a free, prosperous, democratic and strong Europe,” concluded the Chair of the Committee.