Polish MPs visit Ukrainian parliament in show of solidarity
A delegation of Polish lower house deputies took part in a session of the Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday to express Poland's solidarity with Ukraine amid Kiev's tense relations with Moscow.
Ryszard Terlecki, a deputy speaker of Poland's Sejm, the lower house of parliament, headed the group.
"The delegation of the Polish Sejm has arrived here to say that all major political forces in Poland are strong advocates of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Terlecki said at a press conference following his meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. "In this symbolic way we want to manifest this to our Ukrainian friends.
"We can't imagine the security of Europe without the security of Ukraine," Terlecki continued. "We can't imagine the future of the EU without Ukraine. And we can't imagine the future of Nato without Ukraine."
Stefanchuk thanked the Polish delegation for arriving in Kiev on a day that some countries specified as a potential date for attack by Russia.
"A number of our friends, also from the party, deputies, have gone abroad taking their families and capital with them and at the same time you came to us," Stefanchuk said. "We're very grateful for that, and we value it a lot."
Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and has demanded concessions from Nato, including assurances that the bloc will not accept any new eastern members. Moscow and Minsk have also started joint military manoeuvres that are being closely watched by Nato.
