Estonian MEP to visit Ukraine as part of Europarlt's delegation

TALLINN - Estonian MEP Jaak Madison, who embarked on a visit to Ukraine as part of an eight-strong delegation of the European Parliament at the end of last week, is to meet with Anton Korynevych, permanent representative of the president of Ukraine in Crimea, on Monday.

The extraordinary visit to Ukraine was organized by the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Security and Defense. The goal of the visit is to gain an overview of tensions between Russia and Ukraine and to meet with the Ukrainian president and government ministers.

On Sunday, a meeting was held with ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine Matti Maasikas, after which the delegation will head on to Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine to meet with the permanent representative of the president of Ukraine in Crimea, Anton Korynevych, on Monday. Meetings have also been scheduled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as with the Ukrainian foreign affairs minister, defense minister, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and members of the parliament's committees on foreign affairs and defense.

Madison noted that Russia escalating the conflict to a possible immediate outbreak of war cannot go unanswered by European states, adding, however, that one should not live under the impression that other states should be responsible for one's security.

"Having allies in other states and being able to count on their help is very welcome; however, the primary task of ensuring our security lies with us. It is exactly the same way in Ukraine where it's first and foremost Ukrainians who need to defend their state and then hope that their diplomatic and political efforts to get help from other states will materialize," the Estonian MEP said.