PRESS RELEASE : President of Ukraine met with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola in Kyiv

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 2 April 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola who arrived in Kyiv.

The interlocutors discussed the coordination of European parliaments in support of Ukraine.

“I would like to sincerely thank you personally, Roberta, and all your team for the fact that at such an important moment for our country, when Ukrainians believe in deeds and concrete steps, you demonstrate heroism to come to Ukraine. And today it is heroism,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that this visit is an important step in support of Ukrainians.

The Head of State noted that the result of his previous phone conversations with Roberta Metsola was her appeal to MEPs and the world community to support Ukraine, and this is highly appreciated by the Ukrainian people.

“You have led a country of extremely brave men and women fighting for freedom and democracy. I came to Ukraine not only to confirm our solidarity, not only to continue working on the wording of our resolutions, in which we say that Ukraine is part of our European family, because you are fighting for us, for fundamental principles that the European continent has upheld for centuries. I would also like to make sure that you have everything you need to win this war. Because if you win, the whole world will win,” said Roberta Metsola.

She also said that she would like to give Ukrainians who have fled the war and found refuge in other European countries a new perspective that they will return to beautiful Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Head of State spoke about the situation on the frontline and stressed the importance of continuing and intensifying sanctions pressure on Russia. He pointed out that some sanctions turned out to be just a formality, and “holes” were quickly found in some of them.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that new sanctions packages should appear weekly and be painful for Russia until it gives up aggressive actions. At the same time, sanctions pressure on Russia must be reinforced with the defensive support for our state.

According to the President of Ukraine, the world must put pressure on Russia to force it to sit down at the negotiating table and seek peace. But this will not happen if the Russian Federation continues to feel impunity for any of its actions.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke, in particular, about Russia’s blockade of navigation in the Black Sea. According to him, this threatens global food security and may result in high prices for the exported Ukrainian agricultural products.

Finally, the Head of State awarded Roberta Metsola the Order of Princess Olga of the I degree for a significant personal contribution to the consolidation of international support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.