During an official visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte and Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo.
The talks took place both one-on-one and in a trilateral format.
Speaking to the media following the talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "We are meeting here in The Hague to bring peace closer and restore justice. We need justice."
The President of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Mark Rutte and the people of the Netherlands for their powerful assistance in strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities.
“The Patriot and other weapons that the Netherlands provided us have already saved thousands of Ukrainian lives! Thank you!” he said.
The Head of State thanked Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and the whole of Belgium for solidarity in the protection of common European values.
“Thank you for your support of sanctions against Russia and aid packages for our country and people,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
During the talks, the parties focused on security issues. As the President of Ukraine emphasized, the main thing now is the speed of delivery of the promised weapons.
“I have called on our partners, both the Netherlands and Belgium, to help us implement the agreements on military assistance – as quickly as possible. Very important is that we are working to create a coalition of armoured vehicles to complement the existing coalition of tanks. We hope that the Netherlands and Belgium, together with the Nordic countries and all our partners, will effectively support our initiative to create a coalition of armoured vehicles,” the Head of State emphasized.
In addition, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it is time to make positive decisions for Ukraine regarding modern aircraft.
“There is no rational reason to postpone such decisions. To train our pilots and to strengthen the wings for Ukraine means to speed up the peace we all want,” the President noted.
The interlocutors also discussed common Euro-Atlantic security.
“De facto, Ukraine has already become a part of NATO – we cooperate, we trust each other and together we truly make Europe stronger. So, it stands to reason that Ukraine should become part of the Alliance de jure – the thirty-third NATO country. The algorithm of actions in this regard can and should be approved by political decisions at the Vilnius summit of the Alliance this summer. And we count-on the support of our partners,” the President emphasized.
The agenda of the talks between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mark Rutte and Alexander De Croo also included relations between Ukraine and the EU. The President noted that he expects a positive assessment of Ukraine's progress in implementing the European Commission's recommendations.
“We are doing our best during the war, we are doing all the reforms that we have to do, and this will be the time when political positive momentum will open the way to a new and long-lasting positive history both for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced.
The Head of State expressed gratitude for the support of the Ukrainian Peace Formula that can not only restore territorial integrity and security of Ukraine, but also reliably guarantee long-term security of Europe and the world.
“This is our joint task – to restore the full force of the UN Charter and international law in general – everything that was violated by Putin and Russia. Peace calls for sanctions to be stronger, for the isolation of Russia to be more complete. Peace calls for assets of the terrorist state to be confiscated. And peace calls for damages to be repaired and ruins to be rebuilt. And I am sure – we will do it together,” the Head of State said.
For his part, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands emphasized that his country will continue to support Ukraine in its struggle, and Russia must be held accountable for the crime of aggression and injustice it commits against the Ukrainian people.
"The Netherlands will do everything possible to ensure justice for Ukraine, no matter how long it takes and no matter how difficult it is," said Mark Rutte.
According to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Russian aggression reminds the world every day that the rule of law must be constantly protected.
"Ukraine will remain in our hearts and memory not only today, but every day until peace and freedom are restored in your country," he said.
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium reminded that his country, like the Netherlands and many other countries, has been supporting Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale invasion, and called for the continuation of this support.
"We will continue this support and demonstrate our solidarity with Ukraine. Now it's our turn to help Ukraine get rid of the brutal and illegal occupation again. This is the same occupation that our countries experienced during World War II. That is why the Belgian government is preparing a new package of military assistance to Ukraine," assured Alexander De Croo.
He reminded that since the beginning of the war, Belgium has frozen more than 50 billion euros in assets of Russian individuals and legal entities.
"We are now exploring how we can fully utilize the proceeds of these Russian assets to support the reconstruction of Ukraine. Belgium is ready to play a leading role in this in the European Commission," said the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium.
