NATO Parliamentary Assembly calls on increasing assistance to Ukraine

At its today’s plenary session, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) approved a declaration in which it condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and calls on increasing military, humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine.

Head of the Riigikogu Delegation to the NATO PA Marko Šorin said that the main purpose of the Spring Session was to express strong support to Ukraine. The session was due to be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, but had to be moved to Vilnius after Russia launched its war. According to him, at the meetings, an overview of the situation in Ukraine was given, and strengthening of the deterrence and defence posture in the Eastern flank of the Alliance, which is of great importance to Estonia, was discussed. The expectations for the NATO summit to be held in Madrid in a month’s time were also spoken about. “It is significant that the Speakers of the Parliaments of Finland and Sweden, who recently applied for NATO membership, also made speeches at today’s plenary sitting. The accession of our Northern neighbours will contribute to boosting security in the whole region,” Šorin pointed out.

In its declaration in support of Ukraine, the NATO PA urges member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance to continue supporting Ukraine with all possible assistance and to increase pressure on Russia to cease all military operations. The declaration calls on maintaining and increasing sanctions against Russia, on substantially increasing the level of intelligence sharing and supplying of military equipment to Ukraine, as well as stepping up support to war refugees both within and outside of Ukraine. The NATO PA also urges to investigate the war crimes committed by Russia and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Šorin, who represented the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) at the Spring Session of the NATO PA, also attended the meeting of the Nordic and Baltic delegations in Vilnius and met with the representatives of Kosovo and Georgia. More than 230 parliamentarians from the 30-nation NATO Alliance and from almost 20 partner countries and institutions met at the 2022 Spring Session of the NATO PA, which started on Friday and ended on Monday.

NATO PA declaration Standing with Ukraine (in English)

Source: Parliament of Estonia