Speakers of Baltic parlts express support to Ukraine's EU membership

TALLINN - The presidents of the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement on Tuesday in support of Ukraine becoming a member of the European Union.

"We stand united in solidarity with Ukraine and condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. We strongly believe that every possible option should be employed to help Ukraine withstand the attack on its national sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement reads.

The parliamentary speakers of the Baltic states welcomed the official application of Ukraine for the full-fledged membership of the European Union.

"Supporting Ukraine's efforts on its way to the European Union and granting Ukraine the European Union candidate status as soon as possible would be a powerful and effective response to Russia's

military aggression as well as to Ukraine's request for help at this difficult time for it," the presidents of the three parliament said.

"We well understand that Ukraine fights not only for its own future, but also for the future of Europe as a whole. Therefore, a swift response to Ukraine's application for the European Union membership would also mean support for the viability, security and stability of the European Union itself," they said.

The speakers of the three Baltic parliaments affirmed their readiness to provide broad support for Ukraine on its path towards becoming a full-fledged member state of the European Union and called on parliaments of other member states of the European Union to do the same. "We urge our governments and those of other EU member states to start taking practical steps towards Ukraine's EU membership."