A sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is the key to Euro-Atlantic security, as stated by Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak during an online conversation with experts and journalists organized on Friday by the European Policy Center (Brussels).
"Ukraine is at the forefront of defending the civilized democratic world and absolutely deserves to become part of the NATO family. Today, NATO and EU membership are our goals. And the requirements for accession are our roadmap for the reforms we make every day," Andriy Yermak stressed.
The Head of the Office of the President believes that gaining the NATO EOP status in June 2020 has brought Ukraine to a whole new level of cooperation in the field of defense and security.
"This is a great success. But we are hopeful that the process of Ukraine's accession to NATO will be accelerated as much as possible, because the war for democratic European values is taking place right now. And the outpost of this war is Ukraine. And today Ukrainians die for their European choice, for their democratic choice, and we must not forget about it even for a single moment," he said.
According to Andriy Yermak, today Ukraine needs the international and, above all, European community to intensify efforts to achieve peace in Donbas, which every Ukrainian strives for.
"And today, the consolidated position of our European partners, international partners, the United States can really yield results," Andriy Yermak said.
The Head of the President's Office pointed out that the Trilateral Contact Group is working hard to resolve the situation in Donbas, which is effectively blocked by the Russian Federation and its groups, so virtually no issues are moving forward.
"Today is the time to finally say that if you really want to end the war, here is the plan on the table. Our German and French partners are ready to propose clusters or, I would say, logical steps on the basis of which it is possible to create a roadmap for ending the war. This message was delivered. And we are waiting for a response from the Russian Federation. And if they hear it every day, not only from Ukraine, we will be able to achieve the much-needed peace in the center of Europe," Andriy Yermak stressed.
He also stated that the current situation with the ceasefire in Donbas is precarious - from time to time there are certain provocations or violations of agreements by the other side. Then Ukraine immediately informs the OSCE representatives in the TCG and engages a mechanism to maintain the ceasefire.
The Head of the President's Office noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will maintain the regime of silence as much as possible, but if there is an escalation or threats to civilians and the military, the Armed Forces will repel any provocation or attempt to attack Ukrainian positions.
"We are moving towards peace, but we are also ready to defend our country," Andriy Yermak summed up.