We, President Vjosa Osmani, President Maia Sandu, President Jakov Milatović, President Stevo Pendarovski, President Aleksandar Vučić, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Edi Rama, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers Borjana Krišto, Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu, gathered in Tirana on February 28, 2024, and issued the following declaration:
1. Russia’s unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine remains the greatest threat to the European security and international peace. This act of aggression is unacceptable; it is a flagrant violation of international law, including the UN Charter, and a crime against the Ukrainian people.
2. We reiterated our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders as of 1991 and remain committed to providing Ukraine with necessary support to prevail against the Russian war of aggression for as long as it takes in order to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in accordance with the UN Charter and on the basis of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
3. We call on the whole international community to strongly increase support to Ukraine in its ongoing struggle for freedom, independence and territorial integrity.
4. We strongly condemn the intentions of the Russian Federation to hold presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which represents a blatant violation of international law. We emphasize the illegal nature of the upcoming elections in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and in Russia-occupied territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
5. During today's discussions in Tirana, we reaffirmed our solidarity with Ukraine and its people in their heroic defense of their freedom and our shared values and expressed our readiness to participate in the implementation of the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which is in line with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter, and to take part in the inaugural Peace Summit, ensuring the widest possible international participation in this process.
6. We are convinced that Russia's full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine has demonstrated the critical need and crucial importance of a united and strong Europe capable of facing global challenges for the peace and prosperity of our peoples. We emphasized that we are united by common European values and a vision of their further development within a united Europe.
7. We reaffirmed our determination to intensify joint efforts to ensure further progress and mutual support towards the membership of the Western Balkan region, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Georgia in the European Union.
8. We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements. NATO Allies and aspiring countries commend the steps taken towards its future membership in NATO and support Ukraine to become member of the Alliance as soon as security conditions allow.
9. We underlined our firm commitment to bring to justice those individuals responsible for the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity and other atrocity crimes under international law committed in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, through appropriate, fair and independent investigations and prosecution at the national or international level, including through the work of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the International Criminal Court to ensure that allegations of war crimes and other international crimes are fully and fairly investigated by independent, effective and robust legal mechanisms.
10. We agreed to cooperate and focus our efforts on the return of unlawfully and illegally deported and forcibly relocated Ukrainian children.
11. We pledge to enhance our cooperative efforts to fight disinformation, including fake narratives about the war, and to remain committed in combating hybrid warfare and cybersecurity challenges, contributing to the stability and security of the international community.
12. Today in Tirana, we reaffirmed our solidarity and support for Ukraine, expressed our commitment to participate in the post-war recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine in order to enable the Ukrainian people to rebuild their country, engaging all relevant partners, including private companies and international financial institutions, with the aim of securing the financial support, investments and knowledge needed to ensure a prosperous future for Ukraine. We underline the importance of demining in the broader context of Ukraine's recovery, as the crucial initial step toward the safe return of people and resumption of economic and agricultural activity.
We, the friends of Ukraine, confirm our firm belief that only by uniting will we be able to restore just peace, stability, and prosperity on the European continent.
