Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council calls on member states to increase assistance to Kyiv

The Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council has called on NATO member states to increase their assistance to Ukraine, co-chairs of the council Andriy Parubiy and Raynell Andreychuk said.

"We call on all NATO countries to increase bilateral assistance to Ukraine. The Euro-Atlantic community should demonstrate patience as vis-à-vis Ukraine implements military, political and economic reforms," they said in a joint statement issued in Kyiv on Tuesday.

The NATO-Ukraine Interparliamentary Council also urges Ukraine to continue the successful implementation of the Annual National Program of cooperation with NATO in 2016.

In addition, the Council called on Ukrainian politicians to accelerate the pace of reforms and to eradicate corruption and oligarchic influences. "The Summit in Warsaw will be an important opportunity for NATO Allies to assess Ukraine’s progress with reforms and to confirm their support for a sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine," Parubiy and Andreychuk said.

At the same time, the co-chairs of Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council expressed regret over the fact that the Minsk agreements have not yet been fully implemented, and urged Moscow and its supporters in eastern Ukraine to stop regular ceasefire violations in Donbas.

In addition, Andreychuk and Parubiy called for the continuation of international sanctions against Russia.