“In Ukraine, Russia has obtained results contrary to their expectation – the countries of Europe are more united than ever, and they co-operate in giving humanitarian aid and work towards obtaining independence from Russian energy. Also, both Finland and Sweden are coming under the umbrella offered by NATO,” said President Karis. “The European Union and European Parliament must continue joint policies to isolate Russia even more, tightening the sanctions and continuing all-around support to Ukraine.”
President Karis and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola discussed the possibilities the member states have to provide help and support Ukraine and its people - both those who have stayed in Ukraine and those who have fled from the war to Europe. “Those people have fled from war and need protection, they need work and their children need education, all in order to be able to return to their home country after the war, to rebuild and restore it,” said President Karis. “The European Union will help support Ukraine today as well as in its rebuilding after the war.”
The Head of the State thanked the European Parliament and President Metsola for their principled actions in imposing the sanctions, supporting embargo on energy sources and approving the package for helping the refugees from Ukraine.
President Karis said that European Parliament must do everything it can to keep topics concerning aggression from Russia in focus until the war is over. “We must put pressure on Russia until we can be certain that Russia will not repeat aggression against its neighbours, and at the same time we must support Ukraine and give them the prospect of joining the European Union,” said Karis.
Photos (Arno Mikkor)
