“You are our closest and most reliable friends, because you were the first to support Ukraine since the very beginning of the war (..) with both arms and diplomatic activities. Your people, your society, supported us in every way, in all directions,” he said.
Zelensky has also named Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the best lawyers in Ukraine both in the European Union and worldwide.
“Thank you for this meeting, for your support for Ukraine, for this signal to our people,” the President of Ukraine told the Baltic foreign ministers.
Ministers, for their part, have expressed support for Ukraine’s European integration efforts.
According to the office of the President of Ukraine, they have offered assistance in the reconstruction of social infrastructure destroyed in the war, in particular, schools and kindergartens.
During the meeting, special attention was paid to the need to increase the pressure of sanctions on Russia by the EU and the entire international community, and Zelensky emphasized the leading role of the Baltic States in this process.
“It is extremely important not only to increase the pressure on sanctions, but also to maintain the integrity of sanctions. They must be as effective as possible, and the aggressor must not be allowed to evade them and continue to fund the criminal war against Ukraine,” he said.
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs has announced on social networks, the purpose of his and his colleagues’ visit is to show solidarity with Ukraine, as well as to discuss further possibilities for support.
According to the Minister, the visit, which was suspended on February 24, is continuing today. LETA has already written that the Latvian Foreign Minister, together with his Lithuanian and Estonian colleagues, went to Ukraine at the end of February to express support for it in the struggle for its independence and territorial integrity, but the visit was interrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It has already been reported that on Thursday the interior ministers of the Baltic states and Poland visited Hostomel, which was partially destroyed in the war, and signed a declaration in Kiev, which will create the necessary conditions to increase cooperation in the field of home affairs and provide operational support to Ukraine’s internal services.
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