The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, will meet with National Council president Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL) and Council of States president Eva Herzog (SP, BS) for bilateral talks on 12 June as part of an official visit to Switzerland. The talks will focus on the current situation in Ukraine and Switzerland's diplomatic, humanitarian and long-term financial support for the country. The challenges facing the Verkhovna Rada in the current wartime situation and the role of the two countries’ parliaments in the country's reconstruction will also be discussed.
In addition to the usual programme of the official visit, Mr Stefanchuk will address and answer questions from interested Council members between meetings. His statement and the subsequent discussion will be broadcast live from 1pm on the Swiss Parliament’s
YouTube channel.
The Federal Assembly and the Ukrainian parliament maintain close contacts, and these have intensified since Russia’s attack in February 2022. Mr Stefanchuk's visit to Bern is a return visit following the last official trips to Kiev by former National Council presidents Irène Kälin (Greens, AG) in 2022 and Andreas Aebi (SVP, BE) in 2021. The Swiss parliament has repeatedly reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of Ukraine, notably in statements made in the
National Council and the
Council of States in February 2022.
INFORMATION NOTICE FOR JOURNALISTS
Access to the meeting room where the exchange with Ruslan Stefanchuk and the Council members takes place is only permitted to Council members and the Ukrainian delegation. Journalists are not permitted on the 3rd floor during this period.
Room 1 in the Parliament Building will be open to journalists from 1pm onwards, where the meeting between Ruslan Stefanchuk and Council members will be livestreamed too.
Mr Nussbaumer and Mr Stefanchuk will then be available to answer journalists' questions at a press call in Room 1 at 2pm.