President Petro Poroshenko said that Russia had ruined the post-war security system and NATO remained the only efficient protection mechanism.
“Can you imagine that almost three thousand Ukrainian soldiers were killed? Over ten thousand civilians were killed. Who is responsible for these innocent victims? Putin,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized during the “NATO Engages: The Brussels Summit Dialogue” Special session “Conversation with NATO Partners”.
The Head of State stressed that the events of February 2014, had not been a surprise - it had been an illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. “Putin said several times that there were no Russian troops there. It’s not us, it’s a people’s movement, it’s “green soldiers” without any labels. That was Russian occupation of Crimea,” he reminded.
Petro Poroshenko expressed full solidarity with Georgia, recalling that the Ukrainian President and authorities were together with the Georgian people 10 years ago, in August 2008, when Russia carried out an aggressive operation in Georgia.
The Head of State emphasized that the existing post-war security system based on the UN Security Council and unanimous decision-making by permanent members had been destroyed: "When one of the members of the UN Security Council is an aggressor, this mechanism no longer works, it is completely destroyed".
He emphasized: "Practice shows that only one mechanism is effective - NATO. There is no other mechanism. And a country that does not want to attack anybody, that wants to protect its sovereignty, independence and integrity, wants to cooperate and be a member of NATO”.
The President reminded that Ukraine has another security guarantee - the Budapest memorandum. The Ukrainian state was the third largest nuclear country in the world. "If Ukraine had a nuclear arsenal, would it be an object of aggression? Never. In line with the non-proliferation strategy, we gave up the third largest arsenal and instead received guarantees from the United States, Great Britain, France, China and Russia. Where are these guarantees?" the Head of State asked. The President said that during the last four years, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers with arms in their hands defend themselves and Ukraine's sovereignty.
"Why is it so important for Putin? Very easy. With Ukraine, Putin transforms (Russia - ed.) into an empire. Without Ukraine, Russia will be an ordinary state," Petro Poroshenko noted.
"In this situation will Ukraine be the area of personal interest of Putin or Russia? Will it give permissions for my big 45 million nation where to go? Or will Ukraine have the right to a sovereign choice? When millions of people went to the Revolution of Dignity four years ago without requiring any increase in salaries or tax cuts, they demanded a return to the European family," the Head of State emphasized.
The President stressed that Ukraine during these four years successfully implemented the European integration process - the Association Agreement was ratified, the visa-free regime for Ukrainians was introduced, the Free Trade Area with the European Union started, and now almost 50% of Ukrainian trade is with the EU.
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