Trilateral parliamentary assembly calls for speeding up Ukraine's accession to EU, NATO

That’s according to a statement posted on the website of the Lithuanian Seimas, Ukrinform reports.

“[The Assembly] stressed the key importance of further political and expert support by Lithuania and Poland in the process leading to Ukraine’s EU accession as well as in future negotiations to be launched as soon as possible in 2023,” the document said, stressing the countries’ readiness to closely cooperate bilaterally and in a multilateral format to ensure Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO in the shortest possible time.

The session of the Assembly of Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which took place in Vilnius on December 6-7, also focused on maintaining and increasing pressure on Russia through sanctions, the establishment of the Special Tribunal, the provision of assistance to Ukraine, and the country’s reconstruction and economic recovery.

During the session, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, noted that trilateral cooperation between Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine stemmed from the natural aspiration of all the three countries to create their own future and the future of the region by building on the advantages of shared history and culture.

“The history of the Lublin Triangle format shows what an insightful step this was. As Ukraine approaches EU and NATO membership, the importance of our trilateral cooperation is set to grow. I believe that Belarus will join the format someday. This would fully exploit the potential of regional cooperation and ensure our secure common future for generations to come,” she said.

The Trilateral Assembly reaffirmed the countries’ readiness to continue working together to make Russia completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine and restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders. The Assembly also condemned Russia’s attempted annexation of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as the continuous occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and relentless attacks by the Russian Armed Forces against the civil nuclear facilities in Ukraine.

The declaration states that Russia consistently neglects its obligations under the international humanitarian law, in particular, by violating the fundamental provisions of the international humanitarian law concerning the prisoners of war.

Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine called on the international community to sustain and increase the sanction pressure on the Russian Federation with a view to further severely undermining the ability of the aggressor state to continue its war against Ukraine.

The declaration also stressed the paramount importance of speeding up the delivery of air defense and missile defense systems to Ukraine in order to protect civilian population and critical infrastructure. It also emphasized the importance of urgent international support for the energy sector in Ukraine, a major part of which has been destroyed or damaged by Russian missile and drone strikes.

The Assembly stressed the importance of developing and implementing a compensation mechanism as a necessary component to rebuild Ukraine’s economy and make Russia pay for the damage caused by its aggression. The document confirmed the countries’ readiness to actively cooperate to help Ukraine in current and post-war reconstruction and recovery.

The Trilateral Assembly proposed assessing the legitimacy of the Russian Federation’s participation in the OSCE and the United Nations, in particular its permanent membership of the Security Council, and encouraged the cooperation among the Member States of the organization on enhancing the UN reform. At the same time, the Assembly urged the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to adopt without delay an amendment of the Rules of Procedure allowing to suspend the mandate of the delegation of the aggressor state.

The declaration was signed by Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas; Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; and Tomasz Grodzki, Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland.