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Сountries of Northern Europe will continue to support Ukraine as long as it is necessary - joint statement
Censor.NET
03.05.23 19:38
https://censor.net/en/news/3416077/sountries_of_northern_europe_will_continue_to_support_ukraine_as_long_as_it_is_necessary_joint_statement

As Censor.NET informs about this with reference to the website of the President of Ukraine.

Here is the text in full:

“The leaders of Ukraine and the five Nordic countries confirmed their unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. Ukraine has shown extraordinary determination in exercising its inherent right to self-defense against this unprovoked and unjustified attack. Russia must immediately, fully, and unconditionally withdraw all its troops from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

The countries of Northern Europe remain steadfast in their commitment to the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. The countries of Northern Europe will continue their political, financial, humanitarian, and military support to Ukraine as long as it is needed - both individually and jointly as the countries of Northern Europe, as well as through international cooperation within the framework of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and in other formats.

Northern European countries have provided significant and tangible military aid to Ukraine, transferring a variety of weapons systems, including expensive air defense systems, Leopard main battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and artillery systems and ammunition. From the point of view of military and defense materials, the total cost of national aid packages from the countries of Northern Europe, provided to Ukraine since February 2022, is approximately 4.4 billion euros. This military support will continue as new packages are being prepared with constant consideration of Ukraine’s most urgent and urgent need to strengthen its defense capabilities. The US-led Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine (the so-called Rammstein Group) is an important coordination forum for these international efforts.

In addition to national contributions, the countries of Northern Europe take an active part in the activities of the European Union: in military aid to Ukraine through the European Peace Fund and in the training of Ukrainian servicemen through the EU Military Assistance Mission.

In addition to military aid, all Northern European countries provided Ukraine with civilian aid, including financial, humanitarian and emergency support. The total value of these national Northern European events has exceeded €1.5 billion since February 2022 and will continue to grow.

The countries of Northern Europe support Ukraine’s initiative for a just and sustainable peace based on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The peace formula proposed by Ukraine contains a number of important goals, many of which Northern European countries are already working on, such as ensuring nuclear safety and overcoming the significant environmental consequences of war. The countries of Northern Europe are ready to cooperate with Ukraine to ensure the widest possible international participation in the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula and in the Global Peace Summit.

Ukraine and the countries of Northern Europe emphasize their firm commitment to bringing to justice those guilty of war crimes and other brutal crimes committed in connection with Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. The countries of Northern Europe welcome the ongoing international efforts in cooperation with Ukraine to ensure accountability through the creation of an appropriate mechanism (special tribunal) for criminal prosecution for the crime of aggression. Broad international support plays a major role in this context. Therefore, by participating in the main group on ensuring responsibility for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, the countries of Northern Europe are encouraging other countries to join and build international support for the creation of the tribunal. The countries of Northern Europe welcome the agreement on the new International Center for the Investigation of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) in The Hague and hope for the earliest possible start of its work.

Ukraine and the countries of Northern Europe confirm their support for the investigations of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, which are a step towards accountability and have taken note of the arrest warrants issued by the court.

Ukraine and the countries of Northern Europe agree on the need to increase collective pressure on Russia through further sanctions to weaken Russia’s ability to continue an illegal war of aggression. Efforts to ensure effective implementation of sanctions, prevention and countering of sanctions circumvention in third countries and by third countries should be intensified.

Ukraine and the countries of Northern Europe will continue to work together with others to develop mechanisms to compensate for damages, injuries and destruction caused by Russian aggression. An important milestone for this is the international damage register, which will be presented at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavík on May 16-17, 2023. We will continue our efforts to explore appropriate funding options for the compensation mechanism, including a sound legal basis for the use of frozen and frozen Russian assets to support the reconstruction of Ukraine and to pay reparations.

The countries of Northern Europe, together with international organizations and partners, undertake to participate in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. It is already important to lay the foundation for ambitious and long-term cooperation that will create opportunities and help the Ukrainian people to rebuild their country. Engaging all relevant partners, including private companies, international and northern European financial institutions, to provide financial support, investment and necessary knowledge is essential to ensure a prosperous future for Ukraine.

The future of Ukraine and its people lies in the Euro-Atlantic family. The European Union has already recognized Ukraine’s European perspective and granted Ukraine the status of a candidate country. The Nordic EU member states will strongly support Ukraine in its efforts to implement the reform process and meet the requirements necessary for the earliest possible start of accession negotiations, and await the European Commission’s report by the end of 2023. At the same time, in the near future, the countries of Northern Europe will continue to work on maintaining a constant high level of urgent civil assistance to Ukraine, in particular through various EU mechanisms.

Within NATO’s activities, all the countries of Northern Europe continue to focus on direct support to Ukraine, contributing to the significant expansion of NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package to Ukraine. Ukraine has the right to independently choose security measures. At the Bucharest NATO summit in 2008, the allies agreed that Ukraine would become a member of NATO. NATO’s open door policy is based on the Washington Treaty. Ukraine has officially submitted an application for accelerated NATO membership in September 2022. The countries of Northern Europe - NATO members will continue to support Ukraine on its path to future membership. Even before Ukraine becomes a member, its security is of great importance to the Alliance. Ukraine and the countries of Northern Europe - NATO members look forward to the resolution of these issues at the Vilnius NATO Summit in July 2023. The countries of Northern Europe will continue to provide strong support for strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.” Source: https://censor.net/en/n3416077