President of the Riigikogu Lauri Hussar was presented a high state award of Ukraine

NordenBladet —

The Order was awarded by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on behalf of the Ukrainian people for outstanding personal contribution to strengthening interstate cooperation, supporting the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and promoting the state of Ukraine internationally. Hussar accepted the Order after the Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform in Riga. “This is not only a recognition of my activities, but also an acknowledgement to the entire Riigikogu and the people of Estonia for their help and support in Ukraine’s war of independence,” Hussar said, and thanked President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine for the high award.

In his speech at the Summit, Hussar said that Estonia would continue providing strong military, economic and political support to Ukraine until Ukraine had won the war launched by Russia, Crimea had been returned to Ukraine and Ukraine had become a member of the European Union and NATO. “We must do everything in out power that this war, which started not in February 2022, but with the illegal annexation of Crimea ten years ago, would end with Ukraine’s victory and restoration of its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders,” he said.

According to Hussar, Estonia supports Ukraine’s victory plan, which will allow Ukraine to take the initiative in the war and pave the way for a just peace. He underlined the importance of providing military assistance, in particular air defence systems and ammunition, and considered it necessary to remove all restrictions that hinder Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, including the prohibition to attack military targets on Russian territory. He pointed out that Estonia had committed itself to providing Ukraine with military assistance amounting to 0.25% of its GDP over the next four years, and called on other countries to do the same.

In his speech, Hussar recalled the Statement adopted the last week, in which the Riigikogu recognised the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars carried out by the Soviet regime in 1944 as an act of genocide and condemned the continuation of the genocide policy against Crimean Tatars in Russian-occupied Crimea. “We call on the international community to show solidarity with Crimean Tatars, and we also call on other parliaments who have not yet done it to adopt similar statements,” the President of the Riigikogu said.

The Summit organised by Latvia and Ukraine commemorated the passing of 80 years since the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars and the passing of ten years since the occupation of Crimea. The Summit, which was held for the third time, underlined the importance of restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and discussed the impacts of aggression and the crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. At the conclusion of the Summit, the participants adopted a Joint Declaration.

Hussar also had separate meetings with President of the Cypriot House of Representatives Annita Demetriou and President of the Assembly of North Macedonia Afrim Gashi. After the Summit, he participated in the high-level thematic conference on the fifth point of Ukraine’s 10-point Peace Formula, which focused on the implementation of the principles of the UN Charter, the role of the General Assembly and the Security Council, and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the world order. The working group is co-chaired by Estonia and Argentine.

Member of the Riigikogu and Head of the Estonian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA) Mati Raidma also participated in the Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform and delivered a speech on behalf of the OSCE PA.

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
karin.kangro@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: President of the Riigikogu Lauri Hussar was presented a high state award of Ukraine

Source: Parliament of Estonia