John Healy, who represents the Labor Party, assured that Ukraine can
count on strong bipartisan support from the United Kingdom.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze thanked the United Kingdom for its
consistent and unwavering support for Ukraine, as well as for the
practical assistance provided by the United Kingdom to strengthen
Ukraine's defence capabilities.
The parties discussed steps Ukraine and its allies must take together
to counter blackmail and Russian attacks.
The Chair of the Committee is convinced that allies should focus on
three areas. First, on tough sanctions against the Russian Federation:
“Unfortunately, Russia understands only the language of a united power.
Over the past week, when dialogues with Russia have taken place on
various platforms, we have seen that it does not really intend to stop.
And now, after the events in Kazakhstan and after the so-called
“achievements” in Belarus, Russia’s appetite has grown up. Only a
strong, single rebuff can stop it”.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that Russian leader has ambition to go
down in history as the one who revived the USSR, which was founded
exactly one hundred years ago. So he obviously sees some symbolism in
reviving the Soviet empire right now. That is why Russia is so actively
pressuring, intimidating and blackmailing the democratic world. Putin
will do everything possible to sow discord between the countries, so
that there is no unity in support of Ukraine's European and
Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The second important thing is to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend
itself. On all fronts, including energy. The West shall finally work
together to stop Nord Stream-2. What else do we need to see for both
the United States and the European Union to understand that Russia is
already using gas as a weapon?
According to the Chair of the Committee, internal unity should be the
third and most important factor in a strong position against Russia.
She also called on the West not to hesitate to impose sanctions. The
Allies have repeatedly said that tough and unprecedented sanctions
would be imposed if Russia launched a new aggression against Ukraine.
Unfortunately, Russia does this every day: “We hear from everywhere
that if Putin does this, if he attacks, there will be an answer. But
Putin is taking some steps every day in our territory. He distributes
hundreds of thousands of Russian passports in our occupied territories
to Ukrainians who have no choice. He has already partially achieved his
goals”, the Committee Chair stressed.
She also called on British colleagues to help Ukraine strengthen its
internal resilience. “We have asked NATO for help in strengthening our
internal resilience, and some programs have already been launched. And
this needs to be continued and developed. Everything that can be done
to support these programs by the United Kingdom, both bilaterally and
as a member of NATO, is important for Ukraine”, the Committee Chair
concluded.