CEE presidents jointly condemn Russia’s annexation attempt
Polish President Andrzej Duda alongside his counterparts from the Central and East European NATO members have jointly denounced Moscow’s attempts at annexing parts of Ukraine.
Lined up for the photo at the start of NATO’s Extraordinary Summit of the Bucharest Nine are presidents: Poland’s Andrzej Duda (C), Bulgaria’s Rumen Radev (3R), Estonia’s Alar Karis (4R), Latvia’s Egils Levits (R), Lithuania’s Gitanas Nauseda (5L), Slovakia’s Zuzana Caputova (2L) and Hungary’s Janos Ader (4L), as well as European Commission PresidePhoto: PAP/Andrzej Lange
In a joint statement issued on Sunday the leaders wrote: “We Presidents of Central and Eastern Europe, countries whose leaders have visited Kyiv during the war and witnessed with their own eyes the effects of Russian aggression, cannot stay silent in the face of the blatant violation of international law by the Russian Federation…”
The heads of state also called on allies to significantly increase military aid for Kiev and expressed their unwavering support for the war-torn country.
“We reiterate our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We do not recognise and will never recognise Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory,” the statement reads.
The presidents also called on Moscow to withdraw its troops: “We support Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion, demand Russia to immediately withdraw from all the occupied territories.”
The document concludes with an appeal to take war crime perpetrators to court: “All those who commit crimes of aggression must be held accountable and brought to justice.”
The statement was signed by the presidents of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Montenegro and North Macedonia
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed documents to incorporate four regions of Ukraine into Russia at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin condemned by Kyiv and the West as a farce.
The move came after Russia held what it called referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine and declared the annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
(mo)
Source: PAP, president.pl
