It is clear that Poland stands firmly by Ukraine and will support it. “Either today we will pay with money for helping Ukraine, or in some time we may start paying in this war with the price of our children’s blood,” Poland’s Lower House of the Parliament (Sejm) Speaker Szymon Hołownia stated during his speech at a meeting of the heads of parliaments of the V4 countries and Ukraine in Prague on Thursday.
Besides the speaker of the Sejm, Senate Speaker Malgorzata Kidawa-Błońska attended the meeting. The V4 group is made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Hołownia recalled that during the recent V4 prime ministers summit, the question was raised whether it would soon turn into a V2 plus V2 format. He assessed that Thursday’s meeting showed that this will not happen, that the Visegrad Group is sorely needed, and that all its members are dealing with Russian imperialism showing its face in new and unexpected ways. He stressed that the V4 countries agree that Russia invaded Ukraine and bears full responsibility for the war, while they differ when it comes to the manner and intensity of their involvement in helping Ukraine.
He noted that they all agreed there should be peace in Ukraine. At the same time, he assessed that it should not be peace at any cost.
Despite our differences, we see the possibility of further cooperation within the Visegrad Group, Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska stressed. She expressed hope that Poland’s future presidency of the V4 will contribute to the development of regional and European security. The Senate speaker noted that the interests of individual V4 countries should not obscure the need to think more broadly about the future of Europe and Ukraine.
Chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament Marketa Pekarova Adamova stressed the importance of the recognition by all participants in the meeting that Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine. In her view, enshrining this in the summit’s joint statement proves that the V4 has a point and a future.
The invitation to Prague was accepted by the chairman of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, who attended part of the meeting. He told journalists that the war that the Russian Federation has caused in Ukraine is not just about territory, but about principles and values. In his opinion, it is also a war for the future.
Slovak Parliament Speaker Peter Pellegrini stressed that the V4 format should serve to unite views where countries find consensus. The group, he said, should look for common, concrete solutions, for example in the field of infrastructure, diversification of energy resources, or use of the atom.
Hołownia recalled that during the recent V4 prime ministers summit, the question was raised whether it would soon turn into a V2 plus V2 format. He assessed that Thursday’s meeting showed that this will not happen, that the Visegrad Group is sorely needed, and that all its members are dealing with Russian imperialism showing its face in new and unexpected ways. He stressed that the V4 countries agree that Russia invaded Ukraine and bears full responsibility for the war, while they differ when it comes to the manner and intensity of their involvement in helping Ukraine.
He noted that they all agreed there should be peace in Ukraine. At the same time, he assessed that it should not be peace at any cost.
Despite our differences, we see the possibility of further cooperation within the Visegrad Group, Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska stressed. She expressed hope that Poland’s future presidency of the V4 will contribute to the development of regional and European security. The Senate speaker noted that the interests of individual V4 countries should not obscure the need to think more broadly about the future of Europe and Ukraine.
Chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament Marketa Pekarova Adamova stressed the importance of the recognition by all participants in the meeting that Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine. In her view, enshrining this in the summit’s joint statement proves that the V4 has a point and a future.
The invitation to Prague was accepted by the chairman of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, who attended part of the meeting. He told journalists that the war that the Russian Federation has caused in Ukraine is not just about territory, but about principles and values. In his opinion, it is also a war for the future.
Slovak Parliament Speaker Peter Pellegrini stressed that the V4 format should serve to unite views where countries find consensus. The group, he said, should look for common, concrete solutions, for example in the field of infrastructure, diversification of energy resources, or use of the atom.
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