President and high-level NATO PA delegation affirm unwavering support for Ukraine, importance of peace rooted in strength during Kyiv visit

As efforts towards a ceasefire and peace in Ukraine intensify, a high-level delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly led by President Marcos Perestrello (Portugal) travelled to Kyiv on 28-29 April to reaffirm the Assembly’s unwavering support for Ukraine and stress that, for peace to be just and lasting, it needs to be rooted in strength. 

President Perestrello was joined by Vice-President Mikko Savola (Finland), Treasurer Faik Oztrak (Türkiye), Chairperson of the Committee on Democracy and Security (CDS) Javier Maroto (Spain) and Rapporteur of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Relations (PCTR) Simona Malpezzi (Italy). This was the Assembly’s sixth visit to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. 

Addressing the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the invitation of Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, President Perestrello recalled that “the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has stood with you and with Ukraine from day one. Our messages of support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, right to self-defence and self-determination have been clear and consistent”.  

“This war is not just about Ukraine”, the NATO PA President emphasised. “It will define the world we and our children live in.”  

The visit highlighted that the most urgent priority remains to address Ukraine’s immediate needs. Saluting “the unwavering resilience and determination of the Ukrainian people”, President Perestrello denounced the daily “Russian barrages on Ukrainian cities”. Together with Chairman Stefanchuk, the delegation honoured the memory of the victims of a deadly Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district. 

Expressing full support for efforts to bring the war to an end, NATO PA parliamentarians lamented that, unlike Ukraine, Russia had, so far, shown no genuine interest in pursuing a real path to peace. Ukrainian interlocutors reaffirmed Ukraine’s call for a full unconditional ceasefire as a first necessary step. 

As negotiations have entered a critical phase, President Perestrello noted that “the only road to peace is through strength” and warned that the outcome of any negotiations regarding Ukraine will set a precedent for global security. 

“Peace cannot come at any cost”, he stressed. “It cannot be a peace born of surrender, for true peace can only exist when it is rooted in freedom and strength. Ukraine has the right to be free, deserves to be free and it is our job to help make Ukraine stronger”, including by ensuring that any agreement is underpinned by solid security guarantees. 

Throughout their meetings with Ukrainian officials and parliamentarians, the delegation recognised that Europeans needed to step up by providing immediate aid, by demonstrating that they are ready to take the initiative to guarantee a long-term peace within the framework of a future agreement as well as by increasing support for Ukraine’s defence industry.  

Meetings with Allied ambassadors and the Deputy Head of the NATO Representation to Ukraine, Peter Hauge Berg, highlighted the broad range of support which NATO is providing to Ukraine through the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) command in Wiesbaden, which coordinates the delivery of assistance and training; through a financial commitment to mobilise EUR 40bn in long-term security assistance for Ukraine in 2025; through NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine; through efforts to make Ukraine’s armed forces fully interoperable with NATO; and through support for Ukraine’s defence industry, among others.  

The delegation stressed the importance of leaving the door open for Ukraine’s future NATO membership and making clear that NATO membership is a matter for Allies and aspirants only and that no third party should have a veto. Ukrainian interlocutors, in turn, stressed that Ukraine remains fully committed to the goals of EU and NATO memberships - goals which are enshrined in its constitution. 

In addition to their counterparts from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the delegation met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Ihor Zhovkva. They also exchanged with human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk, and visited a Ukrainian drone company and a recovery centre for wounded soldiers.  

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Photos courtesy of the © Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine