Brnabic: Serbia, Ukraine can advance their cooperation, we support Ukraine on EU path

KYIV, - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Monday in Kyiv after meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Ruslan Stefanchuk that the two parliaments were working together on many matters and that their cooperation could be made even more intensive to improve the cooperation and friendship between the two countries, and noted that Serbia would help Ukraine on its EU path.

At a press conference with Stefanchuk, Brnabic said the Serbian parliament had a Serbia-Ukraine friendship group and that she hoped the group's Ukrainian equivalent would soon visit Serbia.

Speaking about advancement of cooperation, Brnabic said EU integration was one of the strategic objectives of both countries and that Serbia fully supported Ukraine on its EU path.

You can count on Serbia providing all our technical assistance and knowledge to you on that path, Brnabic said, adding that she was pleased to note that Serbian Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starovic had informed her a Serbia-Ukraine MoU on cooperation on European integration had been finalised and ready for signing.

Serbia will do everything it can - politically, technically and in terms of expertise - to support Ukraine, she said.

She said that would be in line with Serbia's continued efforts to build close and friendly relations with Ukraine.

Brnabic noted that Presidents Aleksandar Vucic and Volodymyr Zelenskyy maintained excellent and regular communication and that they had last spoken on November 5.

She said Serbia had provided significant humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine, more than all of the Western Balkans combined.

Brnabic said President Vucic's wife Tamara visited Kyiv quite often.

She also noted that Ukraine was a friend of Serbia and that Belgrade highly appreciated the fact Ukraine respected the territorial integrity of Serbia, and that, in the same way, Serbia respected the UN Charter and all principles of international rule of law.

Brnabic said her visit was a signal of continued strengthening and intensifying of cooperation between the two parliaments and the two countries, and invited Stefanchuk to visit Serbia.

Stefanchuk thanks Brnabic for interparliamentary cooperation

KYIV - Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk thanked his Serbian counterpart Ana Brnabic for interparliamentary cooperation and noted that both Serbia and Ukraine would take all the necessary measures to become EU member states.

"We discussed many matters and problems facing our states, we will take all the necessary measures so that our states become EU members. We discussed interparliamentary affairs and I am grateful there is a group for cooperation between our parliaments," Stefanchuk told reporters in Kyiv after a meeting with Brnabic, who is on an official visit to Ukraine.

He added that mutual support between the two parliaments had been discussed as well. "I would like to thank Ana for all the support she is showing for us," he said.