Sandra Kalniete will visit Australia to call for increased aid to Ukraine

Sandra Kalniete MEP will visit to Australia in November, where she will meet Parliament and government officials on 19 November.

Sandra Kalniete will discuss topics on the agenda of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee (INTA), including diplomatic, financial and military support for Ukraine, with Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell and officials responsible for cooperation with Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sandra Kalniete, MEP: "Latvia has become the voice of Ukraine in international organisations, national alliances and bilateral relations. Together with like-minded countries Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland, we consistently support Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO. We will support Ukraine with all the diplomatic, military and humanitarian means at our disposal. At the same time, Russia's aggression in Ukraine is creating global instability and security risks, so a Ukrainian victory is equally important for the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific region. I will address officials in Australia on the need to intensify our direct support to Ukraine."

The MEP points out that since the outbreak of the war, the European Union and its Member States have provided €118 billion in aid to Ukraine, and the European Parliament recently voted overwhelmingly in favour of an additional €50 billion loan to Ukraine, the repayment of which will be financed by the profits accumulated on Russia's frozen assets.

"It sounds good, but aid from democracies comes too slowly, not enough and often too late. We need to be aware that Russia's war against Ukraine is not a regional dispute or a struggle for influence, as Kremlin propaganda presents it. It is a global clash between democracies and dictatorships. Modern dictatorships and authoritarian regimes have built up a network of mutual support that helps them not to collapse under the weight of international sanctions. Iran, China, North Korea and other regimes are supporting Putin's war in Ukraine with their supplies. It has entered a new and more dangerous phase, as Russia has committed 10 000 North Korean soldiers. This development is dangerously destabilising the South-East Asian region, which is why a large and wealthy democracy like Australia must also do more to prevent dictatorships from winning over the democratic world," said Sandra Kalniete.