Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksandr Turchynov during a meeting with President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Paolo Alli discussed the need to continue the sanctions pressure on Russia until Crimea and Donbas return to Ukraine, the NSDC official website reported.
According to Alli, there cannot be any compromises in this matter.
“NATO member countries have a clear position on this matter, we do not put the issue of the people’s freedom at stake,” he stressed.
The two officials discussed the reform of Ukraine’s security and defense sector under NATO standards. Turchynov said the modernization is carried out “regardless of the Russian aggression and is already in the home stretch.”
“There is no alternative to European and Euro-Atlantic integration for our state,” he said.
In his turn, Alli said NATO member countries support Ukraine’s ongoing reforms and the country’s aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration.
According to Turchynov, the Ukrainian special services say Russia is actively building up its forces “primarily in the western and southern strategic directions.” “Analyzing these data, we cannot rule out the expansion of the military aggression against our country,” the NSDC secretary said adding that the Russian military potential threatens not only Ukraine but also Western partners.
In this context he said it is very important for Ukraine to restore military and technical cooperation with its western partners, which was artificially suspended in 2014.
“The lack of military and technical cooperation with our partners does not help Ukraine in increasing its defense potential, which we believe to be a part of the defense potential of the whole of Europe,” Turchynov said.
